Luck of the Draw
by dvd181
Summary: Izuku Midoriya has a Quirk. It's a weird Quirk, and kind of a pain in the ass. But it's powerful, and Midoriya won't let his weird Quirk stop him from living his dreams. Alongside his best friend, Katsuki Bakugo, he attends UA High to become one of the world's greatest heroes! Quirk!Izuku, rated T for Bakugo's langauge.
1. 1: Some People Have The Weirdest Luck

**CHAPTER 1: SOME PEOPLE HAVE WEIRD LUCK**

* * *

_It all started in Quing Quing City, China. A child was born that radiated light. After that, these 'Quirks' started popping up all over the world…and within a few generations, our world had become a superhuman society, with 80 percent of the population having unnatural powers. As society was cast into chaos, a new profession slid to the front of the public eye…superheroes. Oh, by the way, this is the story of how I became one of the world's greatest heroes._

The sun shone brightly on a warm spring day in Japan. Cicadas buzzed, a slight breeze blew through the air…and three preschoolers had cornered another one, with a fifth standing in between them. The blonde leading the group shook his head. "Deku, why are you standing there? He should have known better than to take the last cupcake when he'd had three already!" he exclaimed, staring at the green-haired boy in front of him.

"Kacchan, I don't know why you think you need to do this…but if you don't stop, I'll stop you myself!" the greenette shouted, quivering in fear.

The blonde smirked and small pops of heat and light crackled in his hand. "Really, Deku? Still playing the hero despite being Quirkless?" he asked, before turning to his lackeys. A tubby one extended two wings, while a skinny one's fingers stretched out. "Let's get him!" The blonde swung his hand, intending to detonate an explosion on his friend's face, the greenette shielding himself with his hands in an attempt to block the pain he knew was coming.

In another timeline, the blast would connect, creating a rift between the two boys that would not be repaired for over a decade, among other events both good and bad.

But instead of a blast of heat and force leaving a burn on the kid's face, the hand connected and, with a small "hiss", a little bit of fog left the blonde's hand. "W-Wha-?" the greenette asked.

The blonde had a dumbfounded expression. "Deku? What was…that?" he asked, as his lackeys backed away.

The boy blinked a few times, still surprised. "Was that…my Quirk?" he asked.

The blonde looked on in shock for a few moments, before grinning madly. "Finally! You got your Quirk! Let's go tell Auntie Inko!" he shouted, grabbing the other boy's hand and running out of the park.

The two lackeys looked at each other. "Did we just get abandoned?" one asked.

"Yeah" the other responded, before they looked at the spot where the last kid had been earlier.

"Aw, and the cupcake thief got away!" the first one groaned.

"Nevermind him, let's get outta here" the other said, as they left.

_That day, I learned that not all men are created equal. But sometimes, some of the 'less equal' ones have really good luck…even if that luck can be really, REALLY weird._

* * *

The two boys rushed into the green-haired one's house. "Mama! Mama! I got my Quirk!" the boy said excitedly. The mother, an attractive green-haired woman, looked down at her son. "You did? I'm so proud of you, Izuku!" she said, hugging her baby boy, before noticing the other kid.

"He did, Auntie Inko!" the blonde said. "Katsuki? Well isn't this a surprise! Why don't we get something for him to practice on, and some food for both of you boys. How does katsudon sound for dinner?" she asked, both of the kids practically drooling at the prospect. Inko Midoriya's katsudon was known to a select few as some of the best you could get anywhere. "Go sit down somewhere, and I'll get something to practice on."

The woman collected a candle, a pencil, a cup of water, a bag of potato chips and a sheet of paper and entered the dining room, finding the boys eagerly chatting with each other. "Let's become super-great heroes Kacchan, just like All Might!" the greenette – Izuku – said to his blonde friend.

"You got it, Deku!" the blonde – Katsuki – said to his friend. "Alright boys, settle down. Let's see what his Quirk does" the green-haired woman said softly, as the two boys began to wiggle in excitement.

The green-haired boy touched the candle first, touching it near the base of the flame on it's top, but what happened next was unexpected. The candle's entire structure changed from yellow-white wax into a column of brown wood, and the candle's flame froze into an inverted teardrop of ice. The three all blinked in surprise. "That wasn't what happened last time…" Izuku noted, before looking at the glass of water. "I want to try that one next" he said, the gears in his brain starting to turn.

Inko handed the cup to her son, and he dipped his fingers in the clear liquid. Immediately, it began to turn an odd golden-yellow color, spreading outwards from the point of contact until it filled the whole glass. The woman dipped a finger in the cup and tasted it. "Apple juice?" she wondered aloud, before handing the pencil to her son.

The moment he touched it, the pencil morphed from a yellow stick of wood into a bright orange carrot. Katsuki snatched it up and took a big bite, a smile lighting up his face. "That's a really good carrot, Deku!" he said, flashing a thumbs-up to his best friend.

The boy then touched the bag of potato chips…and in a really weird twist, the entire thing, bag, chips and all, morphed suddenly into a pot of petunias. "Ooooookay…" Inko said, now really perturbed. Handing her son the last item, a sheet of paper, she watched as the paper seemed to suddenly stiffen, before folding itself into a paper crane…a paper crane made of solid steel, that is. "I don't understand. How does this Quirk work?" the woman wondered aloud, while her son looked at his bizarre creations.

The blonde laughed a little. "Your Quirk is really weird, Deku." Upon seeing his friend's downtrodden expression, he added a little to that. "But it's really cool too! We'll definitely become heroes together!" he shouted. The greenette's expression brightened, and pretty soon the two had gone to Izuku's room to watch their favorite video: All Might's debut.

* * *

The next day, Inko took her son to see the local Quirk Doctor. After an hour or two of tests, the woman was called into the old man's office with Izuku. As they sat opposite of him, the bald doctor with the bushy moustache began to speak, looking at some papers on his desk.

"Mrs. Midoriya, your son's Quirk is very peculiar. In fact, I daresay it's one of the oddest and yet most powerful Quirks I've seen in twenty-five years of medical practice" he said, scratching his head. "What were you and your husband's Quirks, perchance?" he asked.

The woman raised one hand and attracted an All Might action figure to her hand. "My husband Hisashi could breathe fire, and I can attract small objects" she said. "That makes this even weirder then, although when it comes to your son's powers, weirdness seems to be the only constant" the doctor said. "What do you mean?" asked Inko.

"Allow me to explain. Your son's Quirk appears to have two principal facets, although they relate very closely to each other. The first is probability. You see, with every event in our universe there's a certain chance of it happening or not happening. From the looks of it, his Quirk manages to select events that have a very, very, almost imperceptibly small chance of happening, and make them almost inevitable to whatever he uses it on" the doctor said.

Seeing Inko's confused but kind of awestruck expression, he continued. "The other facet is luck, or good fortune to himself. Anything that his Quirk does is beneficial to him in some way, although it may not be immediately obvious."

The bald man then finished his explanation. "In conclusion, your son's Quirk activates on touch. When he uses it, he is given four completely random and unrelated possibilities, and after one second, one of those events will randomly happen. That event will benefit him in one way or another, but it is entirely random as to how obvious that benefit will be. It is very powerful and very strange, and if he can control it, he could easily become the most powerful hero alive."

As Izuku's eyes watered with tears of joy, the doctor turned to him. "Now, for the Quirk Registry, you need a name for your power. And since it's your power…what do you want to name it?" he asked. The boy thought for a few moments, before answering with two fateful words.

"Lucky Draw"

* * *

_Ten years later, Aldera Middle School_

It was a bright spring day in Musutafu, Japan. The cherry trees lined the streets in walls of pink, as the cool air was accented by the warm April sun. And inside a classroom of a small middle school, a teacher began his first lecture of his class's final year. "Now, you're all entering your final year here, so it's time to start thinking about your future. Normally I'd be passing around these forms for future job opportunities…" the man began, before throwing the stack of papers up in the air. "But let's be honest here, you all want to be heroes!" The students started cheering, showing off their Quirks (illegally).

A small explosion quieted the room down. "Hey teach! Don't lump me in with these rejects!" growled Katsuki Bakugo. Over the years, the ash-blonde had grown into a muscular, strong and brash young man. As complaints filled the room from his statement, the teacher looked down at some papers on his desk.

"Oh yeah, Bakugo, aren't you applying to UA?" he asked, setting off a new wave of commotion.

"Isn't that the hardest hero school to get into?" "Don't they only have an acceptance rate of one in three hundred?" Another explosion quieted them down.

"I aced the mock exam, extras! I'll definitely be getting in!" the Blonde Bomber retorted.

The teacher looked down at his notes again. "Isn't Midoriya also applying to UA?" he asked, setting off a wave of laughter through the room. "Midoriya? Yeah right!"

"He couldn't be a hero with that weird Quirk of his!" Izuku Midoriya cowered at his desk, before his fear was cut through by a loud explosion. Bakugo glared at the others in his class, who were now all silent.

"Listen up, extras! Deku's Quirk may be weird, but it's DEFINITELY hero material!" he shouted, as the class began to shrink into their seats. "It's damn sure a better Quirk than Sharkbait's" he said, gesturing at a kid with a shark head. "Or Schnoz's" he continued, glaring at a boy with an unusually large and somewhat reddened nose. "Or Sweet Dream's" he finished, pointing to a plain-looking girl who was asleep at her desk, her spirit floating as a ghostly projection above her. "Seriously, WAKE UP!"

Another explosion, and the girl woke up. "Ugh, I'm awake, mom…" she muttered, earning a quick laugh from her classmates. The rest of the day went by in a flash, and before long, the two childhood friends were exiting the school and walking off towards home, taking a shortcut by the river.

"So, you hear about Mount Lady's debut earlier, Kacchan?" Midoriya asked of his friend, as they walked towards an overpass.

The blonde scoffed. "Yeah, she certainly knows her audience."

Earlier that day, a new female hero with a gigantification Quirk had made her debut by beating a villain with a similar Quirk and showing popular local pro Kamui Woods up in the process. She had proceeded to use her skintight bodysuit to show off her…endowments as best she could. "You got notes on her in your notebook, right?" he asked, looking at the greenette.

"Yeah, I did" the boy said, pulling the book out and thumbing through to her entry.

"Thirteen of those things now? Jeez, by the time we get our licenses, you'll have almost forty" Bakugo joked, before noticing the gurgling noise coming from a sewer grate behind them.

"Deku, behind you!" he barked, as a mass of living sewer sludge burst out of the grate and attacked itself to the greenette.

"Awesome! A medium-sized skin suit! You'll be perfect for hiding from _him_" the sludge gurgled.

"K-Kacchan…" Midoriya gasped, as the villain attempted to drown him.

"Deku, defend yourself as best you can! I'm gonna light this fucker up!" Bakugo growled, as small explosions popped in his hands. The greenette nodded, before clenching a fist and activating his Quirk. "Now…DIE, YOU SLIMY FUCK!" Bakugo roared, before releasing his biggest explosion to date.

The wave of heat and force traveled down the narrow tunnel, the pressure blowing the slime into a splatter on the wall while cooking it into near-unconsciousness. A small square object clattered to the ground nearby, completely unharmed. Bakugo walked over and picked the item up, shaking it a few times before laughing. "A brick, Deku? Even for you, that's weird."

The brick vibrated for a moment, then morphed back into Midoriya. "What? Weird is practically my middle name; you should know that by now" the greenette scoffed back, before his ears picked up a gurgling noise. The sludge had coalesced once more and was attempting to attack them again.

And then the sewer grate exploded off it's hinges, and a blonde giant stepped out.

"Shit!" the sludge burbled.

"A-A-A-A-ALL MIGHT?!" Midoriya shouted.

"**HAVE NO FEAR, CHILDREN…BECAUSE I AM HERE!**" the Symbol of Peace himself shouted.

"Hey! All Might! Deal with him already!" Bakugo shouted, gesturing to the sludge.

"**RIGHT, YOUNG MAN! TEXAS SMASH!**" And with a massive punch, a blast of air splattered the sludge all over the wall, the villain now thoroughly unconscious.

As Midoriya dumbfoundedly watched the Number One Hero scrape sludge into two soda bottles, his brain started moving at a million miles a second. "_Holyshitit'sAllMightcanIgethisautographwhy'sheinMusutafuarethosehiscasualclotheshowdidhefitthatguyintothosebottles-!_"

"Nerd, you're muttering again…" Bakugo said, before pulling a book out of his school bag and approaching the pro, his greenette friend producing '_Hero Analysis for the Future, Volume 13_" from his bag and following him.

"**YOUNG MEN, WOULD YOU LIKE AN AUTOGRAPH?**" All Might asked, a massive smile on his face, before quickly signing the two's notebooks. "**LET'S SEE…IZUKU MIDORIYA…AND KATSUKI BAKUGO…**" As he handed Midoriya's back to him, however, he accidentally made contact with the boy's hand, and Midoriya activated his Quirk in surprise.

And suddenly, right before their eyes, All Might exploded in a burst of steam and was replaced by a skinny, emaciated man wearing the exact same clothes that the Number One Hero had been wearing moments earlier.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Bakugo bellowed in surprise.

"Wha-? My time limit shouldn't be up yet!" the blonde man said, almost panicking at the revelation of his true form.

"All Might shrunk! Did I do this? Oh god, I shrunk All Might!" Midoriya was having a mental breakdown at that moment.

"Young man, calm yourself! This is normal for me" the man said, which calmed Midoriya down a little bit. He raised his shirt to reveal a large, discolored scar on his left side. "I was badly hurt about five years ago in a villain fight, and lost several internal organs. I can only do hero work for about three hours a day now" the man explained.

"Was that the Toxic Chainsaw fight?" Midoriya asked.

Bakugo laughed. "Nah, that guy was too much of a pussy to ever hurt All Might like that."

The skinny blonde nodded. "That's correct; this was done by someone else. I made SURE that fight was never made public, EVER" he said, his expression darkening. "Anyway, I should get this guy to the authorities. I take it you two know you shouldn't go blabbing about this to people, right?"

The boys nodded at this. The man started to steam, and in a flash he had grown back into a muscular colossus. "**THEN I'M OFF. TAKE CARE, YOUNG MEN!**"

The two stood in stunned silence for several moments, until Bakugo finally broke the ice. "Well…that happened."

Midoriya looked at him, and retorted in a completely uncharacteristic way. "No _shit_."

Little did they or the hero notice a hole in All Might's pocket, and a bottle of slime coming loose from within it...

* * *

As the duo made their way back home, they walked through an alley. "Well, that was a sucky experience" Midoriya said.

Bakugo growled, then kicked a soda bottle down the alley, it's cap bouncing off. "Yeah, I don't want to think about what was in that slime bastard's body. Fuckin' disgusting" he said. "I'm going to have to shower twice to get the smell off of me…" the greenette trailed off, hearing an unpleasantly familiar gurgling sound behind him.

"I'm honestly sad you two punks think so little of me!" the sludge said, as it grabbed Bakugo and wrapped itself around him.

"Shit, the motherfucker's got me! Get out of here, Deku!" Bakugo roared, as the slime attempted to suffocate him, while dragging him out into the main street and spontaneously activating the boy's Quirk, explosions setting fires all along the street.

"R-Right, Kacchan!" the greenette said, running to get the nearest heroes.

Within a minute, the entire street was covered in flames, and a crowd had gathered. Unfortunately, the heroes 'didn't have the right Quirks' to deal with the sludge, and as Midoriya ran back around the corner, having alerted every hero agency in the area, he came to the last conclusion he wanted to make. "_They're not going to save him. They'll let him get suffocated, then someone with the 'right Quirk' will step in and defeat the villain, the media will write it off as another tragedy, and Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru will never be happy again…I can't let that happen!_"

And just like that, the boy dashed into the street. "Hey, get back here kid!" one of the heroes yelled.

"Deku? What are you doing! Why are you putting yourself at risk like this?" Bakugo shouted, another explosion being forced from his palms.

"Because…rescuing someone in need, even from impossible odds…isn't that what heroes do?!" Midoriya yelled back. A pair of blue eyes in the crowd widened at this declaration.

"Shit…you're right. Get me outta here, Deku!" Bakugo roared, jerking his arms upward as the sludge forced another explosion out of him. "Stop struggling, dammit!"

The greenette reached out an arm, and swiped an arm across a tendril of sludge. Immediately, the villain's body shifted from a grey-green color to a dark brown. "What the hell? Why can't I move as easily?!" the sludge yelled, now gurgling much less. Bakugo let loose several explosions, and escaped his prison. "I'll still kill you two!" the villain yelled, raising a tentacle in the air, but much slower than usual.

"**PATHETIC…I'M SO PATHETIC!**" bellowed the voice of the Symbol of Peace, as he snatched the two boys from harm's way.

"Damn you, All Might!" the villain yelled, before the pro unleashed a massive punch.

"**DETROIT…SMASH!**"

The sludge's body, now composed of wet clay instead of sewer slime, splattered all down the street as a gale blasted through the narrow byway and into the sky. A few moments later, it began to rain. "He changed the weather…with a single punch?" Bakugo wondered aloud.

"Amazing…" Midoriya said.

The pros attempted to scold Midoriya for rushing in while praising Bakugo for fighting back, but the blonde firecracker was having none of that. "Fuck your fake-ass bullshit, you fucks! 'We couldn't do anything'? 'We needed someone with the right Quirk'? Bullshit! Backdraft could have doused Woods in water and rescued me that way, but instead it took Deku running out into danger to save me. And now you cowardly bastards are scolding him for doing your jobs? Fuck you! Let's go, Deku!" Bakugo roared with the fury of a thousand suns, before marching off, his greenette friend in tow.

* * *

"Thanks for the save, by the way. Not your fault all the pros are fucking useless" the blonde said, grinning at his friend.

"It-It was nothing…" Midoriya said.

As the two rounded a corner, however, they were scared almost out of their skin when All Might leapt out into the street. "**I AM HERE-!**" he said, before spontaneously deflating, blood spurting from his mouth.

"AAAAAH!" Midoriya shrieked.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Bakugo said, jumping back.

"I'm sorry about that, Young Midoriya, Young Bakugo…but I needed to speak to you two!" the skinny pro said, before smiling at the duo. "Young Midoriya…back there, when you ran in to save Young Bakugo, what happened? Would you say your legs moved before you could think?" he asked.

"Y-Y-Yeah…" the boy responded.

"Well…the truth is, most of the greatest pros, in all their origin stories, have that one thing in common. Their legs moved before they could think about what they were doing…and the two of you seem to understand and embody that more than anyone else I've ever met." The growing expressions of joy and awe on the duo's face told him all he needed to know.

"You two can both be heroes…and I deem both of you worthy of inheriting my power!"

The two froze. "Inheriting…?" Bakugo muttered.

"W-W-Worthy of your power…?" Midoriya asked.

"Oh jeez, you two should see your faces right now!" All Might said.

"No, wait, what?" Bakugo wondered, now even more confused.

"It's long been wondered what kind of Quirk you have; many have suggested it's Muscle Augmentation, Strength Enhancement or something similar, but you always deflect anytime you're asked…" Midoriya entered a mumble-storm, as All Might looked on.

"Is that normal?" the pro asked.

"Yeah, this usually happens" Bakugo said, before lighting a small explosion. "EARTH TO DEKU!" he shouted.

"Ah! I'm awake!" the boy said, jumping straight up.

"Anyway, I make sure that nobody knows the secret of my Quirk. Society needs to believe that the Symbol of Peace who saves everyone with a smile is a natural-born hero…but the truth is far from that" All Might said, as an unearthly glow started to shine from his hand. "My Quirk is called 'One For All', and it is a sacred torch passed down from generation to generation, to give hope to the world!" he said, as the boys looked on in astonishment. "It's up to you two who should have this power, but you are both worthy!" he finished.

"No thanks" said Bakugo.

"I'll pass" Midoriya agreed.

All Might spit up blood. "Wait, what? You're…declining?" he asked, clearly surprised.

"No offense, All Might, but I want to become a hero under my own power…however difficult it may be to control" Midoriya said, looking at his hands.

"My Quirk has always been powerful, versatile and perfect for heroics. If any of the other extras are gonna give Deku or I a challenge, then I can't take your Quirk" Bakugo said, little sparks dancing on his palms.

"We're going to have to decline; I'm sorry, All Might" Midoriya said, bowing a little.

"_These kids…_" the skinny blonde thought, before a smile grew on his face. He started chuckling. "AHAHAHAH**AHAHAHAHA! YOU TWO REALLY ARE SPECIAL!**" he said, transforming back into his hero form. "**VERY WELL THEN! I'LL FIND SOMEONE ELSE…AND MAYBE AFTER YOUR TRAINING IS COMPLETE, YOU CAN HELP ME TOO AT UA!**" he said.

"Wait…training?" Bakugo asked.

"You don't mean-!" Midoriya began.

"**THAT'S RIGHT! EVEN IF YOU'RE GOING TO DECLINE MY POWER, AT LEAST ALLOW ME TO PERSONALLY TRAIN YOU TO GET INTO UA!**" the pro exclaimed, as the duo's eyes widened. The pro handed them two business cards with an additional number scribbled on them.

"**THIS IS MY PERSONAL PHONE NUMBER. ON PAPER, I'M OFFICIALLY TOSHINORI YAGI, ALL MIGHT'S RETIRED SECRETARY. CONTACT ME WHEN YOU GET HOME, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT TRAINING! YOU TWO WILL BECOME GREAT HEROES; I'LL MAKE SURE OF THAT!**" All Might said, before turning and leaping into the sky.

The two teens stood in shock for a few moments, before smiles started tracing across their faces. "Deku…" Bakugo began, turning towards the greenette.

"Kacchan…" Midoriya began, turning to face his friend. The two looked each other in the eye for a moment…then grabbed each other in a big hug.

"WE'RE GONNA GO TO UA!" Bakugo shouted.

"WE'RE GOING TO BE REAL HEROES, KACCHAN!" Midoriya began to sob. The sun set on the two joyful teens, as they took their first step towards their future…

* * *

**ON THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**The boys begin their training! The Entrance Exam draws near! Will these two succeed or not? Stay tuned to find out!**


	2. 2: You're Gonna Go Far, Kid

**CHAPTER 2: YOU'RE GONNA GO FAR, KID**

* * *

After the two future heroes got home, they got the idea to make a group chat with All Might in order to communicate with the pro better. Midoriya entered he, Bakugo and the Symbol of Peace's contact info into his phone, and within a few moments he had created the new group chat.

* * *

**[****_Weirdboi_**** has created the chat ****_Road to UA!_**** with ****_Lord Explosion Murder and Toshinori Yagi_****]**

**_Weirdboi_****: Hey Kacchan! Might-sensei? Yagi-sensei? Whatever. I made this chat for our training for UA! *smile emoji***

**_Lord Explosion Murder_****: Oh good, you beat me to it, Deku. So, where are we goin'?**

**_Toshinori Yagi_****: Yagi-sensei is fine. Anyway, meet me at Dagobah Beach Park at 6:30 Saturday morning. We'll begin your journey to becoming the heroes of tomorrow there!**

**_Lord Explosion Murder_****: Dagobah Beach? Perfect!**

**_Weirdboi_****: Kacchan and I have been training our Quirks in that junk for years. We know exactly where to meet you!**

**_Toshinori Yagi_****: You boys are even more dedicated than I thought; already training yourselves like that. Very well then! I'll see you there then!**

**[****_Toshinori Yagi_**** has left the chat]**

**_Weirdboi_****: Goodnight Kacchan!**

**[****_Weirdboi_**** has left the chat]**

**_Lord Explosion Murder_****: Goodnight nerd.**

**[****_Lord Explosion Murder_**** has left the chat]**

* * *

_Ten Months Later, UA High_

The cool February air sent chills down the spines of the applicants to UA High, one of the world's premiere hero schools (only rivaled by Shiketsu High in west Japan, Gotham Academy in the USA, and Dresden High in Germany). After ten months of grueling training, both of their Quirks and their physical prowess, with none other than All Might himself, the Dynamic Duo of Aldera Middle School was ready for the exam.

"You ready, Deku?" Bakugo asked, school bag slung over one shoulder.

"I was _born_ ready, Kacchan!" his greenette friend responded.

The two's training had payed off nicely; both had nicer musculature than they'd had when they started their training, and their Quirk training had gone very well. Bakugo, ever the overachiever, had gotten the jump on developing super moves (something most heroes didn't worry about until more than halfway through their first year), and Midoriya had discovered something important about his Quirk: he could subtly influence which possibility would come to be out of the four his Quirk would give him, a level of control that would help him greatly in the exam.

As the duo walked forward, Midoriya was so taken by the sight of the massive H-shaped building in front of them…and didn't notice a cobblestone in the path jutting up slightly until he tripped over it. "_Oh, this won't end well_" the boy thought as he fell…until he stopped.

"Sorry about using my Quirk on you without permission. I just figured it would be bad luck to trip and fall before the exam" a cheery, round-faced girl with brown hair next to him said, as he floated in midair due to her Quirk.

Bakugo burst out laughing. "Jeez Deku, we haven't been here five minutes and you've already almost eaten shit out front!" he guffawed, to the confusion of the girl.

"S-Shut up, Kacchan!" he sputtered back to the blonde, who just laughed harder.

"Nice to meet you two! I'm Ochako Uraraka, and you're…Deku and Kacchan, right?" the girl said.

"Deku?" Midoriya squeaked.

"Kacchan?" Bakugo sputtered.

"Oh, sorry, did I say something wrong?" the girl asked.

"No, no, it's just that those are our nicknames for each other" Midoriya explained. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, and grumpypants over there is Katsuki Bakugo."

The blonde grumbled. "I'm not grumpy…"; Midoriya rolled his eyes in response.

"Well, it was nice meeting you! Good luck on the exam!" she said, smiling as she walked off.

"Like we need it!" Bakugo said, as he and Midoriya continued towards the entrance.

* * *

The written exam flew by in a flash (Midoriya thought it was bizarrely easy), and soon the Dynamic Duo found themselves sitting in an enormous auditorium with all the other applicants, being addressed by a loud blonde pro hero who had no idea what subtlety was. "WHAT'S UP, ALL YOU LITTLE LISTENERS? LET ME HEAR YOU SAY 'HEY'!" the Voice Hero, Present Mic, shouted at the audience. Nobody responded…at all.

"_Ohmygodit'sPresentMicIlistentohisradioshoweverynight-!_" Midoriya began, while Bakugo simply rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, quit it, Deku." The blonde groaned, holding a hand to the side of his head as if a headache was coming on.

"ANYWAY, HERE'S HOW IT'S GONNA GO! YOU'LL ALL BE CONDUCTING TEN-MINUTE MOCK BATTLES IN SUPER-HIP FAKE CITYSCAPES! YOU'LL FACE ROBOTS WORTH, ONE TWO AND THREE POINTS EACH! GATHER AS MANY POINTS AS YOU CAN IN TEN MINUTES TO HAVE A SHOT AT PASSING! SOUND GOOD?"

As silence reigned, everyone looked to their notecards. "I see…they're splitting us up so that we can't work with our friends. Tricky bastards." Bakugo noted. "Probably good that we're not in the same battle center, otherwise I'd take all the points" he said, prodding the greenette with his elbow.

Well yeah, Kacchan, that's kind of the point" Midoriya snarked back.

"Also, don't forget how insane it would get with the two of us in one place" Bakugo added.

"True."

"Excuse me, but I have some questions" a voice came from the audience, as a spotlight shined on a tall boy with glasses. "You only talked about three types of robots, but listed four on the handouts. If this is an error on official UA materials, it Is utterly shameful. This institution is too prestigious to make such mistakes acceptably" the boy lectured. "And you there!" he continued, pointing at Midoriya. "Cease your distracting muttering at once! It is distracting and disgraceful. If you can't take this seriously, leave."

As Midoriya flushed red from being called out, Bakugo lit off a small explosion and raised one hand, before flipping the bird to the tall boy. "Stow it, glasses!" he barked, as the other teen sputtered at the rude gesture.

"THANKS FOR CALLING IN, EXAMINEE 7111! THE FOURTH ONE IS WORTH ZERO POINTS, AND IS JUST AN OBSTACLE THAT WILL GO CRAZY IN SMALL SPACES. JUST TRY TO AVOID IT AND FOCUS ON THE ONES WITH POINT VALUES, YA DIG?" Present Mic explained, while the glasses boy bowed and took his seat. "Thank you for clarifying!" he said.

"Thanks for the save, Kacchan" Midoriya sighed.

"Nobody messes with you but me, Deku" Bakugo responded.

"THAT'S ALL, FOLKS! I'LL GO FOO AIR WITH A SAMPLE OF THE SCHOOL MOTTO! AS GENERAL NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ONCE SAID, 'A TRUE HERO WILL ALWAYS OVERCOME ADVERSITY TO SAVE THE DAY!' NOW, GO BEYOND…PLUS ULTRA!" Present Mic shouted, greeted with silence.

"Good luck, Kacchan" said Midoriya.

"Tch…like I need it, Deku" the blonde said, before standing up and exiting the auditorium.

And so, the teens gathered at UA that day went forward to tackle the entrance exam in a bid to become the heroes to tomorrow…not knowing just what dangers might face them in the future…

* * *

One twenty-minute bus ride, a large group of examinees, including Midoriya, were dropped in front of Training Ground Beta, one of several massive mock cityscapes on UA grounds, to conduct their practical exam. The day had warmed up a bit as the sun rose, and it was most certainly not sweatshirt weather anymore.

"_Okay, this is it. Time to show what All Might's training has done!_" Midoriya said to himself, looking around at the other examinees, including a tall boy with multiple arms, a blonde boy with an ornate belt, a dark-haired boy with a white and blue headband, a sleepy lilac-haired boy and Uraraka. "_Oh good, she's here too. I should thank her for earlier; Kacchan would never have let me hear the end of it if I'd actually fallen_" he thought, walking towards her, before a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

The greenette turned around to see the tall boy with the glasses "_Oh great, he's here too_" Midoriya groaned internally.

"She looks like she's concentrating in preparation for the test. What do you intend to do? Distract her and ruin her chances of success, just as you attempted earlier with the entire audience?" the boy asked.

"What? No!" Midoriya said. "I was going to thank her for saving me earlier."

"Oh…I'm sorry to have bothered you then" the tall boy said awkwardly.

The other examinees began staring at him. "Hey, didn't he almost eat dirt outside this morning?" one asked.

"Easy pickins'" another laughed.

"_They've all written me off…this is perfect_" Midoriya thought to himself, smirking internally. "_An opponent who is sure of their victory is the most likely to make mistakes…and these guys are all giving me the opening I need by underestimating me._"

Walking over to Uraraka, he tapped her on the shoulder. "H-H-Hi…" he said shyly. "_Oh god, I still can't talk to girls_" he groaned internally.

"Hey Midoriya! How funny that we're in the same testing ground!" the girl said, smiling brightly.

"_So they did know each other…_" the glasses boy thought awkwardly.

"You ready?" the greenette asked.

"You bet!" the round-faced girl responded.

"START!" shouted Present Mic, as the examinees looked at the concrete tower the voice hero stood in. "C'MON, GET MOVING! THERE'S NO COUNTDOWNS IN THE REAL WORLD!"

The entire crowd had a collective look of "_Oh shit_" cross their faces before they all took off running, including the greenette.

"_I can't believe I'd overlook something as obvious as a surprise start_" the boy thought in embarrassment as he turned a corner. A wall exploded near him, and out burst a One-Pointer. "**Target Acquired: Beginning Attack**" came a garbled robotic voice, as it sped towards him.

"_This is perfect…LET'S DO THIS!_" the boy thought, before jumping to the left and swiping a hand across the robot's surface.

His bizarre Quirk worked its' magic almost immediately, as the entire thing started to fold up before his eyes, quickly becoming a waffle iron. "_Huh, that's new_" he thought, before picking up the waffle iron and carrying it over his shoulder.

As he rounded another corner, a row of Two-Pointers and a sole Three-Pointer all locked on to him. Thinking quickly, he threw the waffle iron at them, activating his Quirk again. The appliance morphed mid-flight into a bronze javelin, which speared through two of the Two-Pointers and lodged itself into the Three-Pointer. "_That was pretty cool, honestly_" he thought, as he dodged the small rockets fired by the larger robot, and swiped a hand across it.

The Three-Pointer's form morphed and distorted until it had folded into a small CD. Midoriya bent down and picked it up. "_'Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace' by The Offspring? Man, that's a vintage album! Almost 200 years old!_" he thought, before running off to find more opponents.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Training Ground Delta, one Katsuki Bakugo was having the time of his life. The moment that the test began he had run in with his Blast Rush Turbo move, and was now tearing apart the Villain Bots like they were made of wet cardboard. "DIE!" he roared, shredding a couple One and Two-Pointers. "GET WRECKED!" he yelled, jumping atop a Three-Pointer and blowing it to bits from the inside out. "'SUP, FUCKERS?" he shouted, diving from a rooftop and incinerating another group of One-Pointers. Pausing a moment to inspect his handiwork, he muttered under his breath.

"That's 80", before noticing a Two-Pointer sneaking up on a dark-haired boy with some kind of Hardening Quirk. "LOOK OUT!" he yelled, jumping in the way of the attack and destroying the bot with one hit.

The dark-haired boy turned around and flashed a sharp-toothed smile. "That was so freaking manly, dude! Thanks a ton!" he said.

"You're welcome" Bakugo grumbled, before launching himself down the street again.

In a darkened room, several pro heroes looked on as another pressed a large red button labeled "KAIJU SWITCH". In all the testing areas, the ground began to shake, and a massive robot labeled with the number "Zero" rose out of the cityscape in each one.

"That's kind of overkill…" Midoriya muttered, as he stared upward at the giant robot, a Three-Pointer slowly turning into a pillar of salt behind him from his Quirk. He had gathered 53 points so far.

In Ground Delta, Bakugo's face was split by an unearthly grin. "FINALLY, A GOOD FUCKING CHALLENGE!" he yelled.

***Cue My Hero Academia OST – You Say Run** *****

The two sprung into action in their separate areas. Midoriya dashed towards the robot, his pace quickening when he noticed Uraraka trapped under some rubble. The tall boy with the glasses and the boy with the headband were running his way. "You two! Glasses! Headband!" he shouted, getting their attention. "_Oh god, I'm turning into Kacchan_" he thought.

"What is it?" the glasses boy asked.

"There's another examinee trapped over there under some rubble. I need your help" the greenette responded, staring at his objective.

In Ground Delta, Bakugo raced towards the robot, noticing a group of examinees trapped between a collapsed building and the Zero-Pointer. Noticing a girl with vines for hair who he'd seen saving people while tearing robots apart a few minutes earlier, and the boy with the Hardening Quirk, he devised a Quick plan. "Vine Girl! Hair-For-Brains!" he shouted, the two looking at him. "Yes, you two! I'm gonna take that thing down, so get those guys outta there!" he shouted, pointing at the group of trapped examinees.

"On it!" the dark-haired boy yelled, hardening his body and running through the debris, the vine-haired girl nodding as her hair extended through the hole he had left behind and fishing out a grey-eyed blonde boy and a pink-skinned girl, while the Hardening Quirk user carried a bug-eyed brunette boy out.

"Good! Now GET BACK!" the explosive blonde yelled.

Launching himself in the air with multiple controlled explosions from his palms, he gained altitude until he was far above even the Zero-Pointer's head. "_I had hoped to wait until the Sports Festival to show this off…but it looks like I'm gonna use it today!_" he thought, as he turned in midair to face on a diagonal towards the robot's face. Using more controlled detonations, he created a cyclone of force with its' terminus at the Zero-Pointer's head. Gathering as large a pool of explosive sweat in his right hand as possible, he brought his hand forward almost as if throwing a softball, and lit the explosion off while calling out the downright awesome name he'd come up with for this move.

"HOWITZER…IMPACT!"

The effect was immediate. A massive explosion, easily as large as a house, engulfed the robot's head, neck and torso, the heat melting the obstacle while the force of the blast knocked its' head off of its' weakened neck. "That…was awesome" he said, an almost psychotic grin splitting his face. Then he realized he'd fucked his arm up with the attack and had no way of getting down.

Before he could start cursing his luck, however, a net of vines caught him and slowly lowered him to the ground. Looking down, he saw the green-haired girl with her hands clasped together and her eyes closed, and he was finally placed on the ground.

"Thanks" he grumbled.

"I am always happy to help another" the girl responded, still not opening her eyes.

In Ground Beta, Midoriya felt the earth shake. "_Looks like Kacchan went overboard again_" he thought with a smile, before focusing on his objective. He was currently being carried forward towards the Zero-Pointer by the glasses boy, who he had correctly deduced had a speed Quirk. The headband boy, who could weld things together at the molecular level (a really cool ability if he was being honest) was currently carrying Uraraka away.

"Are you sure about this?" the glasses boy asked.

"Yeah. I should be able to disable this thing with one touch" the greenette responded, as they dodged a blow from the robot and arrived at its' base.

"Here we go…" Midoriya said, reaching out and swiping his hand across the Zero-Pointer's surface.

Suddenly, a massive pressure weighed in his head. "_Looks like this is my limit for what I can Wierdify_" he thought. However, hitting his previously-unknown limit wasn't enough to stop the effects of his Quirk. The Zero-Pointer shuddered as the fast boy carried him away, and suddenly it began to twist, distort and morph into…

"Is that a marble statue…of All Might?"

Sure enough, where the Zero-Pointer had once stood, there was now a hundred-meter tall marble statue of the Symbol of Peace, standing proud in a triumphant pose with a smile on his face. In the teacher's observatory, the man in question started laughing so hard that he began coughing up blood. "_Well done, Young Midoriya_" he thought between fits of laughter.

In the back of the room, a dark-haired, disheveled pro sucked a juice packet dry. "_Great. Another problem child…_" he thought to himself, looking at the colossal effigy of the Number One Hero.

"AAAAAAND THE EXAM'S OVER!" Present Mic shouted.

The two friends met by the front gate, having both been treated for their injuries from the exam by the school nurse; the Youthful Heroine, Recovery Girl. "You went overboard, didn't you, Kacchan?" the greenette asked with a smirk.

His blonde friend smirked right back. "And you didn't?" he scoffed.

"True…although I wasn't quite expecting it to turn into a statue of All Might…" Midoriya admitted sheepishly. That night, the two of of them dreamt of the future, and what it might hold.

* * *

A week later, the letters arrived from UA, and the two teens met at Bakugo's house to open them. "Well Deku, you ready to get second place?" the blonde asked, as they sat at his desk.

"In your dreams, Kacchan" the greenette scoffed. "You go first."

"If you insist" Bakugo said, opening his envelope. Out dropped a small metal disc, and a hologram sprung to life.

"_I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION!_" shouted an image of the Symbol of Peace. He was wearing a godawful yellow pinstriped suit that had clearly been tailored specifically for him.

"A-A-All Might? Isn't this from UA?" Midoriya asked.

"Nice fashion sense, Yagi-sensei" Bakugo snarked.

"_IT MAY SURPRISE YOU, BUT I DIDN'T COME HERE TO MUSUTAFU JUST TO FIGHT VILLAINS. YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE NEWEST MEMBER OF UA'S FACULTY; THEIR NEW FOUNDATIONAL HEROICS TEACHER!_" All Might continued, before a hand reached on screen.

"_YES? WHAT'S THE MATTER? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I'M SHOWBOATING? WAIT…I HAVE TO DO __**HOW**__ MANY OF THESE? JEEZ, A HERO'S LIFE NEVER GETS ANY EASIER_" the giant said.

"Nice editing, dumbasses" the explosive blonde snickered.

"_YOUNG BAKUGO, YOU SHOWED RIDICULOUS ACADEMIC TALENT AND COMBAT PROWESS, EVEN BY UA STANDARDS. YOU GOT THE THIRD-HIGHEST SCORE ON THE WRITTEN EXAM AND AN ASTOUNDING 80 VILLAIN POINTS ON THE PRACTICAL, WHICH WOULD BE ENOUGH TO PASS…IF THE EXAM WAS GRADED ON VILLAIN POINTS ALONE!_" the Symbol of Peace said, confusing the madly grinning blonde.

"_YOU SEE, THERE WAS ALSO A HIDDEN SYSTEM TO THE EXAM: RESCUE POINTS! FOR RESCUING OTHER EXAMINEES IN DANGER BEFORE DESTROYING THE ZERO-POINTER AND INSPIRING OTHERS TO HELP YOU, THE JUDGES AWARDED YOU 40 RESCUE POINTS!_" Bakugo's grin widened even more, as the Symbol of Peace finished.

"_WITH A TOTAL OF 120 POINTS, YOU FINISHED FIRST IN THIS YEAR'S ENTRANCE EXAM! THE LAST PERSON TO EXCEED 100 POINTS IN THE EXAM WAS BEST JEANIST OVER A DECADE AGO. WELCOME, YOUNG BAKUGO, TO YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!_"

The recording shut off, as the two sat in stunned silence…silence that was broken by a joyful cheer of "FUCK YES!" from the blonde in question.

Five minutes later, the two teens had finally calmed down enough to open Midoriya's letter, and the Symbol of Peace launched into another bombastic explanation. "_YOUNG MIDORIYA, YOU SCORED A PERFECT 100 ON THE WRITTEN EXAM IN A RECORD TIME, PUTTING YOU EASILY IN FIRST ON THAT PORTION._" The greenette's eyes watered.

"Don't cry yet, Deku, he hasn't told you the results yet" Bakugo chided, although he was clearly happy for his friend.

"_ON THE PRACTICAL, YOU WERE NO SLOUCH EITHER, SCORING AN IMPRESSIVE 53 VILLAIN POINTS. HOWEVER, WITH YOUR FEAT OF TRANSFORMING THE ZERO-POINTER INTO A GIANT EFFIGY OF YOURS TRULY, WHICH MADE ME LAUGH HARDER THAN I HAVE IN YEARS, YOU WERE ALSO AWARDED 50 RESCUE POINTS, PUTTING YOU AT A TOTAL OF 103 POINTS AND FIFTH PLACE IN THE ENTRANCE EXAM! CONGRATULATIONS, YOUNG MIDORIYA, AND WELCOME TO THE HERO ACADEMIA. I'M VERY PROUD OF YOU AND YOUNG BAKUGO._" The recording showed the Top 10 rankings from the exam.

1\. Katsuki Bakugo: 80 villain points, 40 rescue points; 120 total points

2\. Eijiro Kirishima: 60 villain points, 53 rescue points; 113 total points

3\. Ibara Shiozaki: 52 villain points, 60 rescue points; 112 total points

4\. Tenya Iida: 72 villain points, 35 rescue points; 107 total points

5\. Izuku Midoriya: 53 villain points, 50 rescue points; 103 total points

6\. Ochako Uraraka: 48 villain points, 49 rescue points; 97 total points

7\. Itsuka Kendo: 37 villain points, 55 rescue points; 92 total points

8\. Yosetsu Awase: 55 villain points, 35 rescue points; 90 total points

9\. Fumikage Tokoyami: 60 combat points, 28 rescue points; 88 total points

10\. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu: 43 combat points, 42 rescue points; 85 total points

"Mom…Dad…Kacchan…I did it" the greenette murmured.

* * *

**ON THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**The Dynamic Duo starts at UA! How will they handle their batshit insane teacher? Who will their classmates be? Stay tuned for more!**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**And with that, the entrance exam is done and it's time to start with the first day at UA! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**The song that inspired the chapter title is "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" by The Offspring.**

**As ever, thanks for reading!**


	3. 3: Set My Clock Early (I'm Always Late)

**CHAPTER 3: I SET MY CLOCK EARLY (I'M ALWAYS LATE)**

* * *

April had finally come, and the Dynamic Duo of Aldera Middle School had graduated and were now standing outside the gates of UA High. "We really did it, Kacchan, we're here, this is happening!" Midoriya said, a grin on his face.

His blonde friend smirked. "As if there was even any doubt" he scoffed.

The duo quickly found their classroom on the first floor. 1-A's door was huge, easily four times the height of either boy.

"You ready, Deku?"

"I was born ready!"

The door opened and the two entered the classroom, finding their assigned seats – appropriately in a row, with Midoriya just one seat back from Bakugo. "And now we wait" the blonde said, kicking back and placing his feet on his desk. On the opposite side of the room, the tall boy with glasses from the entrance exam rushed over and began lecturing the blonde.

"Excuse me, but please take your foot off that desk! It's disrespectful to the craftsmen who made it, our upperclassmen and the school's honor itself!" he said, making exaggerated motions with his hands.

Bakugo snorted. "Fuck off, Glasses" he said.

The tall boy sputtered. "Excuse me?"

The blonde continued riling the other students up. "I said, fuck off, extra."

Midoriya sighed. "Kacchan, you can't just call everyone who isn't me, mom, dad, your parents or Yagi-sensei 'extras'. It's impolite" he said.

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Fine."

The glasses boy straightened up. "Let's try again. I'm Tenya Iida of Somei Private Academy, and you are…?" he asked.

"Katsuki Bakugo, Aldera Middle School. Don't you forget it" the blonde growled.

"Izuku Midoriya, also from Aldera Middle School" Midoriya said. "Please excuse Kacchan; he's a bit rough around the edges, but nice enough" he said, patting his friend on the shoulder with a cocky smile.

"Deku…" the blonde groaned, knowing there was no escaping his friend's teasing.

The other students started filtering in soon enough, and Midoriya took the opportunity to assess his classmates. The row on the opposite side of the room started with a blonde boy who appeared to be sparkling. Immediately behind him was a pink-skinned girl with horns, a teal-haired girl with large hands and an odd-shaped face, Iida and finally Uraraka.

The next row over started with a grey-eyed blonde boy who appeared to be silently judging everyone around him, followed by a blonde boy with a black streak in his hair, a spiky red-headed boy, the dark-haired boy with a headband from the Entrance Exam and a brow-haired boy with large eyes.

The third row began with an enormous multi-limbed boy, with a purple-haired girl with long earlobes behind him. She was followed by a dark-haired boy with large elbows, a brooding boy with a bird head and a heterochromatic boy with a head of hair divided in half. One side was white with a grey eye, and the other was red hair and a blue eye.

The final row consisted, from front to back, of a dark-haired girl with a bob cut, Kacchan, himself, a tired-looking purple-haired boy he remembered from the Entrance Exam, and a tall, utterly gorgeous dark-haired girl. Midoriya thought his face might be flushing red from thinking about her, but thankfully a voice from the doorway interrupted them.

"Good morning, class."

The voice coming from the hall caught everyone off guard as they looked behind them to see a…caterpillar? No, it was just a professional hobo in a sleeping bag who unzipped himself and stood up, walking into the classroom, draining a juice packet while doing so. "You were all in your seats when class began; what a surprisingly logical group" he continued, stepping up to the whiteboard.

"My name is Shota Aizawa, and I'll be your homeroom teacher; now put these on and be outside within 15 minutes" he said in a voice devoid of energy or emotion, tossing a stack of unisex blue and red tracksuits on the desk, and turning to walk back out the door.

* * *

Out on the sports field, the students were gathered together, expressing their surprise about a Quirk Assessment Test. "But, what about orientation?" asked Uraraka.

"Orientation? Heh, who needs that nonsense? It bored me half to death when I was a student here Anyway, since this is my class and UA allows me to run it how I see fit, I'm having you take a standardized physical exam like you're all used to…except this time, you get to use your Quirks" the disheveled pro said, before continuing.

"The government is still trying to pretend all men are created equal, instead of letting the strong excel and the weak fall behind. It's irrational, and someday they'll have to learn. Bakugo, you placed first in the entrance exam" the man addressed the explosive teen, before tossing him a softball.

"What was your best throw in junior high?" he asked.

"80 meters" the teen responded, still as dumbfounded as the rest of his class.

"Now, use your Quirk on it. Anything goes, just stay in that circle" the teacher continued, as Bakugo took his position, and lined up a throw.

"Don't hold back, Kacchan!" Izuku said, prompting the blonde to scowl for a moment before smirking.

"Like I'd do that anyway, Deku!" he said, before releasing an explosive pitch that broke the sound barrier, roaring "DIE!" in the process. The blast of wind forced several of their classmates to the ground, with the pro standing unaffected in the screaming wind.

The ball landed 1.02 kilometers away, according to Aizawa's tablet. "Now, these are the scores I want to be seeing in this exam" he said, prompting cheers from the class.

"You broke a kilometer, Kacchan? That's amazing! Easily a new record for you!" the greenette said, as his friend rejoined him.

"Your score had better be just as impressive, Deku" the blonde said, staring out the corner of his eye at his friend.

"That looks like fun!" said the pink-skinned girl, causing the teacher to freeze.

"Fun? You think this hero business is fun? Okay, new rule with this trial: whoever gets the bottom score gets expelled for having no potential whatsoever; no refunds or retries" the man said dangerously. "If you don't like how I'm running my class…go home now."

"But that's not fair at all!" Uraraka said. "We all got in fair and square; and yet we're being threatened with expulsion less than an hour into our first day?"

Iida raised his hand robotically. "It seems very unprofessional for such a prestigious institution to allow their faculty to behave in this manner!"

Aizawa smirked. "You think that natural disasters and villain attacks are 'fair' or 'professional'? Grow up. The real world is cruel, tough and unforgiving. As it stands, NONE of you would survive five minutes if you faced what the average pro deals with on a day-to-day basis. Welcome to hell, kids. Hope you enjoy your stay" the man said, before turning away.

"Now get started. We haven't got all day."

* * *

_Test 1: 50-meter dash_

"_Runners, on your mark!_" came a robotic voice from the measurement device at the end of the 50-meter dash course. Iida and a frog-like girl named Asui lined up at the starting line. "_Ready? Go!_" the voice said, and the two took off running.

Iida finished first due to his Engine Quirk, while the frog-like girl hopped over the line just behind him. "_3.24 seconds! 5.58 seconds!_"

The tall boy stopped. "_Looks like I can only get to third gear at 50 meters…_" he thought.

_Tenya Iida! His Quirk: Engine! As you can see, his legs pack a real punch!_

"Hmmmm, seems he's in his element here. But speed won't help him with everything" Aizawa remarked.

Uraraka touched all her clothes and shoes with the pads on her fingertips, activating her Quirk on them. "This should lighten me up pretty good…"

_Ochako Uraraka! Her Quirk: Zero G! She can nullify the effects of gravity on anything she touches…but overuse makes her barf hard!_

The girl finished just behind the headband boy, who was in slightly better shape than she was. "_6.49 seconds! 7.15 seconds!_"

"_Faster than junior high!_" the girl thought joyously.

The sparkling blonde boy and the girl with pink skin took their positions, the boy standing with his back to the finish line. The boy jumped at the sound of the start, and a beam of energy shot out of his belt. Unfortunately, the beam quit a few moments later and he fell down halfway through the course.

_Yuga Aoyama! His Quirk: Navel Laser! That's right, a bellybutton laser! But his stomach hurts if he fires for more than a second at a time._

Midoriya and Bakugo were next up. "Do your best, Kacchan" the greenette said cheerfully.

"Don't fuck up and get a bad score, Deku" the blonde scoffed back.

"_Ready, Go!_" The two immediately sprung into action.

Bakugo surged forward with several repeated explosions from his hands. "BLAST RUSH TURBO!" he yelled, surging across the finish line in 3.93 seconds. The greenette, meanwhile, swiped his hands across the surface of the track. The ground rippled and carried him forward at an inexplicable rate, the boy himself never taking a step. He crossed in 4.49 seconds.

"Interesting. A Geokinesis Quirk?" the grey-eyed blonde wondered aloud.

_Test 2: Grip Strength_

Bakugo squeezed the grip testing device as hard as he could, getting an impressive 80 kilograms. The bird-headed boy manifested some sort of living shadow from his body and used it to squeeze the device, getting an impressive 270 kilograms…which was topped when the multi-armed student wrapped three of his hands around his device and got an insane 544 kilograms.

"_Holy crap, he could crush someone's head like an egg with that kind of strength!_" Midoriya stared in awe, before squeezing his own device while activating his Quirk. To his surprise, several cables shot out of the device and wrapped around it until it broke, earning him a tie with the ponytailed girl, who pulled a vice grip out of…somewhere and broke hers.

"Okay, so not Geokinesis. Maybe Metal Manipulation?" the grey-eyed blonde wondered.

_Test 3: Standing Long Jump_

Aoyama shot his Navel Laser, propelling him past the measuring device. Bakugo used multiple explosions to do the same. Uraraka made herself weightless and floated by. The multi-armed boy used the flaps between his arms as a sail and glided over the giant sandbox. An electric blonde boy's hand crackled with lightning before his leg muscles swelled up and he cleared two-thirds of the box in one bound.

Midoriya assessed the situation, then touched the platform beneath him…which elongated all the way to the end of the sandbox. He calmly walked from one end to the other, then jumped off.

"But how? If his Quirk was Metal Manipulation, then it wouldn't work on the plastic parts of the platform!" the blonde murmured, now even more confused about the boy's Quirk.

_Test 4: Side-to-Side Steps_

Midoriya came in easily at second place in this event without even using his Quirk, coming in just behind Bakugo, who had used his explosions to move back and forth at an impressive rate. "_Kacchan has gotten incredibly good at controlling the size, heat and force of his explosions. At the rate he's going, he'd be able to be a combat medic and cauterize wounds without his patients even noticing…_" Midoriya thought, impressed with his friend's abilities.

_Test 5: Ball Throw_

Uraraka made the ball weightless and caused it to literally float out of the atmosphere. The boy with odd elbows created a length of tape and used it as a bolo to get the ball 380.8 meters away. The tall girl created a cannon and shot it a solid 1.11 kilometers, leaving even Bakugo awed.

"Damn…Ponytail has some skill" he said, his greenette friend agreeing while trying not to stare too hard at the girl in question, whose shirt was unbuttoned to allow her Quirk to seemingly build the cannon right out of her skin.

"_She's really pretty – WHAT AM I SAYING?!_" Midoriya thought, barely keeping his blush under control.

The grey-eyed blonde shook Uraraka's hand. "Nice to meet you! I'm Neito Monoma" he said, smiling as the bubbly girl introduced herself as well. Taking his ball in hand, he threw it…and just like no gravity was involved, it floated away into the clouds. Aizawa held up a score of infinity as the boy turned around.

"But…how?" Uraraka asked.

"Thank you for the help…your Quirk is really handy" the blonde said, walking back into the crowd. "Now, if only I could figure out what _his_ is…" he muttered, staring at the next contestant.

Midoriya grabbed the softball and concentrated. He had discovered over time that he could view the possible outcomes that his Quirk would provide and, with intense concentration, influence one possibility to happen slightly more than the other three. "Let's do this!" he shouted, hurling the softball as his eyes snapped open.

The ball soared through the air for a solid 50 meters…and then, as its' trajectory began to descend, the ball inexplicably morphed in midair from a small white softball into an honest-to-goodness pterodactyl. It flew through the air for almost another minute, before transforming back into a ball and falling to the ground. According to Aizawa's tablet, it traveled 993.2 meters.

The students all gawked in surprise at this. "What the hell? I though for sure his Quirk was Touch-Based Inorganic Matter Manipulation, but thanks to this, that just went out the window…" the grey-eyed blonde started in shock.

"You impress me, Izuku Midoriya" the pro said, to the boy's surprise. "Despite having an altogether illogical Quirk unlike any other I've seen to date, you're still a very competent hero candidate. Well done."

Just then, the boy noticed a pair of bronze goggles under the hero's scarf. "Oh my god…you're Eraserhead!" he said. The pro looked surprised to be recognized, not noticing the massive grin from a purple-haired student at finding out that his favorite pro hero was his homeroom teacher.

_Test 6: Long-Distance Run_

The dynamic duo did very well on this test too. Bakugo's physical fitness combined with his clever use of his explosions to put him in third place, behind only the ponytailed girl and Iida. Midoriya, for his part, did very well after transforming the ground into rubber and bouncing along the track, which did absolutely nothing to calm down Monoma, who was now thoroughly confused about his Quirk.

_Test 7: Sit-Ups_

Fifteen minutes in, and the two boys were STILL competing with the bichromatic teen for the win at this event. Aizawa eventually got bored and called it a tie.

_Test 8: Seated Toe-Touches_

Midoriya didn't do particularly great in this test, being beaten by the ponytailed girl, the bichromatic boy, the pink-skinned girl and, in first by a long shot, Bakugo, who was bragging about being able to do this all day.

After that, Aizawa pulled up the list, and showed them the results.

1\. Momo Yaoyorozu

2\. Katsuki Bakugo

3\. Shoto Todoroki

4\. Tenya Iida

5\. Izuku Midoriya

6\. Neito Monoma

7\. Tokoyami Fumikage

8\. Mezo Shoji

9\. Yosetsu Awase

10\. Eijiro Kirishima

11\. Mina Ashido

12\. Ochako Uraraka

13\. Kosei Tsubaraba

14\. Denki Kaminari

15\. Tsuyu Asui

16\. Hanta Sero

17\. Yui Kodai

18\. Kyoka Jiro

19\. Hitoshi Shinsou

20\. Yuga Aoyama

The sparkling blonde in last place looked distinctly uncomfortable, and started muttering something in French. "Oh, by the way, I was lying" the hobo nonchalantly said as he dismissed the hologram, almost all the students staring at him like he was from another planet. "That was all just a logical ruse to bring out your best" he continued, with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face.

The class continued to stare blankly. "Wait, nobody else figured out he was lying? Sorry, I should have said something" Yaoyorozu admitted bashfully.

"_Yeah, you should have_" the rest of the class thought, eyeing the brunette.

"Alright, go get a syllabus and get out of here. We're done for today" Aizawa said, walking off like nothing had happened.

"Hold on, Aizawa-sensei, your own Quirk isn't very useful for these tests. How would you have passed your own test?" asked Monoma, clearly very curious.

The underground hero looked back and then grinned with the mother of all troll faces. "I'd have erased all the other students' Quirks and made them compete Quirkless" he said, before continuing on his way to the nearest utility closet to catch some shut-eye.

"_Well, that happened_" was the class's collective thought.

* * *

As their first day at UA drew to a close, the Dynamic Duo walked home, only now accompanied by a couple other tag-alongs. "Deku! Kacchan!" The two boys froze, and turned around to see a bubbly, round-faced girl running towards them.

"Oh, hi Uraraka" Midoriya said nervously. The bubbly brunette was closely followed by Iida, the tall ponytailed girl, the sleepy lilac-haired boy, and the grey-eyed blonde.

"Midoriya! Bakugo!" the glasses-wearing speedster shouted as they caught up with the Dynamic Duo.

The tall girl walked up to Midoriya, whose face started to flush due to the proximity. "Izuku Midoriya, right? My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. It's very nice to meet you" she said, bowing her head slightly.

The Dynamic Duo already knew Iida, so they turned their attention to the blonde, who came in for a handshake. "Not so fast, Blondie! I saw what you did earlier today" Bakugo said, standing in front of Monoma.

"Oh? You're more perceptive than I thought" the other blonde responded, smirking. "But I assure you that right now, I'm not determined to copy any Quirks…just to meet new people."

In his heart, Neito knew this was a lie. Nobody would ever want to become his friend, with a parasitic power like his. But for some reason, he found himself drawn to the greenette boy who he'd seen writing in a curious notebook earlier in the day. Speaking of which, the boy held his hand out.

"Deku…what are you doing?" the explosive boy hissed.

"I trust him, Kacchan" the greenette said, before turning back to the grey-eyed blonde. "Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you…Monoma, was it?" he asked.

"Oh, right" Neito thought, snapped out of his reverie. "Neito Monoma. A pleasure to meet you" he said, shaking the boy's hand. Instantly, a weird feeling, like glittering chaos, swept through him. "Yikes. What kind of a Quirk is this?" he asked, aloud.

"Oh, you were wondering about my Quirk, right?" the greenette said, smiling in a way that was all too pure for this world.

"Yeah…I thought it was something like Geokinesis at first, then Metal Manipulation, then Inorganic Matter Manipulation…" Monoma muttered.

"Oh, you're so wrong, Blondie" Bakugo muttered. "Why don't you explain your Quirk to him, Deku?" he said, the greenette jumping in surprise before launching into a long explanation

"My Quirk is called Lucky Draw, and it manipulates probability…" he began. It took almost five minutes to explain the Quirk, and when he finished, Neito was stunned.

"A Quirk like that…I've never heard of such a bizarre ability" he said in astonishment.

"I've also accidentally modified people's Quirks with my power. Sometimes it makes a Quirk weaker, like when I inadvertently made my dad only able to exhale purple smoke. Other times, it makes them stronger, like when I made Kacchan sweat some kind of azide instead of nitroglycerine. I've never seen an explosion that big, before or since…" he trailed off.

"Oh hey, that was your doing? You're probably the only reason I passed the Entrance Exam!" the lilac-haired boy spoke up suddenly.

"Wait, what?" Midoriya asked.

"Oh, right, I should introduce myself. Hitoshi Shinsou. Nice to meet you" he said, before continuing. "My Quirk is called Brainwashing, and it does exactly what it sounds like. Problem is, it doesn't work on robots" he said, ignoring both Midoriya and Monoma's looks of astonishment at his Quirk and its' potential. "So, I'm running around the exam like a chicken with my head cut off, completely clueless as to how I'm going to pass, when this green-haired kid runs by and tags me with his hand."

Noticing Midoriya looking kind of embarrassed, he continued. "I guess you didn't notice me or thought I was a robot or something, but then I get cornered in an alleyway by a Two-Pointer and try using my Quirk as a last-ditch effort…and it worked. Then I start making the robots tear each other apart as soon as I figure things out, and lo and behold, I rack up 28 villain points and 30 rescue points, somehow passing the exam. My guess is you accidentally changed my Quirk from 'Brainwashing' to 'Technopathy'" he finished.

"Really? That's awesome!" Midoriya shouted, before turning around and walking towards the train station. "C'mon, join Kacchan and I in going home! My mom's making a big batch of Katsudon…" he said, as the hungry looks grew in the eyes of the other students.

"Oh, we couldn't…" Yaoyorozu began.

"It would be impolite" Iida said stiffly.

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "Look, if you don't come with, it'll be even more troublesome for you. Just…roll with it" the blonde said, before turning to follow his greenette friend. The other five students turned to each other, shrugged their shoulders in confusion, then followed the Dynamic Duo.

That evening was the start of a beautiful friendship for the seven of them, but little did they know their first big training event would be just the next day…

* * *

**ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF LUCK OF THE DRAW:**

**The students face each other in a Battle Trial! All Might is a total amateur at teaching! Find out more next chapter!**

* * *

**FROM THE FILES OF IZUKU MIDORIYA**

**Quirk Name: Copy**

**User(s): Neito Monoma**

**About: Copy is a pretty straightforward Quirk that does exactly what it says it does. It can temporarily copy the Quirk of anyone Monoma touches for five minutes. He gains a fairly good instinctual understanding of the Quirk he's copying, and in some cases uses it better than the actual owner of the power.**

**Weaknesses: Can not copy Mutant-type Quirks, only Transformation and Emitter-types due to physiological differences. Only capable of using one Quirk at a time.**

**Comments: Potentially a very powerful Quirk with lost of room for future improvement. Training could allow Monoma to use his copied Quirks in conjunction with each other and increase his time limit on Copied Quirks. May also be possible to copy Quirks at a distance**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**The Quirk Assessment has come and passed, and Midoriya has caused more crazy shenanigans! I reshuffled the 1-A and 1-B rosters a bit because I wanted to try my hand at writing some underappreciated 1-B characters.**

**Also, wanted to thank you guys for the support. This is easily my most popular fanfic by a LONG shot.**

**This chapter's title is a line from "A Little Less 'Sixteen Candles', A Little More 'Touch Me'" by Fall Out Boy.**


	4. 4: Smile Like You Mean it

**CHAPTER 4: SMILE LIKE YOU MEAN IT**

* * *

The next day, the students of Class 1-A found out something they had hoped wasn't true: outside of their heroics classes, UA's curriculum was…actually pretty normal. Their first class of the day was English with Present Mic, which was incredibly boring. Then Mathematics with Ectoplasm, which was rather difficult. Then History of Heroics with Midnight. Finally, after lunch, it was time for Foundational Heroics…the one class whose teacher was still a mystery.

"**I AM HERE…COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!**" came the world's most recognizable voice, as All Might burst through the door of Class 1-A, wearing one of his older Silver Age costumes, setting the entire class into fanboying and fangirling.

"**TODAY'S LESSION WILL BE ONE OF THE MOST BASIC HEROICS EXPERIENCES: BATTLE TRAINING!**" the iconic hero said, setting off more excitement in the crowd.

"**AND THERE'S NOTHING MORE HEROIC THAN LOOKING GOOD! YOUR HERO COSTUMES ARE OVER IN THOSE CUBICLES ON THE WALL; DESIGNED BY THE SUPPORT COURSE BASED ON YOUR REGISTRATION FORMS AND THE DESIGNS YOU SENT IN!**" he continued, pointing at twenty numbered cubicles on the left-side of the class.

Twenty minutes later, at Training Ground Beta, the heroes in training walked out to meet the Number One hero, dressed in their new costumes.

All Might couldn't help but let a chill run down his back as he looked at the heroes of tomorrow. "**THEY SAY CLOTHES MAKE THE HERO, AND FROM NOW ON YOU ARE CLEARLY HEROES IN TRAINING! YOU ALL LOOK SO COOL! NOW, LET'S GET STARTED, YOU BUNCH OF NEWBIES!**"

* * *

Midoriya looked around at his classmates in their sophisticated costumes, all awesome in so many ways, before making sure everything was in place on his own costume. The undersuit was forest-green with a few white markings, and had been designed to be fireproof, waterproof, insulated from both temperature and electricity, and slightly shock absorbent.

He also wore a black mask that started at his hairline and encircled his head, completed by green acrylic goggles and a respirator that was currently resting on a slot on his costume's collarbone. He originally designed two bits of cloth in homage to All Might's hair bangs into the costume, but Bakugo had deemed them way too obvious and called them 'kinda dorky, honestly'. He was right, if Midoriya was being honest with himself.

"Deku, your costume looks amazing!" Uraraka said, walking over to the boy…who immediately started madly blushing about the girl's skintight bodysuit in pink, black and white, with large armbands and a system of pipes wrapping around from a large backpack; an astronaut helmet with a pink-tinted acrylic visor completing the outfit. "I should have been a bit more specific…" she trailed off.

"_She's pretty cute – OH GOD NOT AGAIN!_" the poor boy thought.

Iida was wearing a full-body suit of armor that looked vaguely Gundam-esque; Midoriya could swear he'd seen it somewhere before. Yaoyorozu was wearing a red bodysuit that left…very little…to the imagination. "_No! BAD!_" he chided himself at the sight of the tall girl's huge…tracts of land.

Bakugo's costume was black, green and orange with two slim grenade-themed gauntlets, smaller grenades on the waistband, and boots that had been specially designed to allow him to fire explosions from the soles of his feet. "Looks awesome, Kacchan!" he said, the blonde smirking at the compliment.

"Yours ain't bad either, Deku."

Awase's outfit also held interest, as it appeared to be based on a welder's jacket and apron, with various objects sticking out of his pockets to aid him in using his Quirk. He had also changed headbands; his zigzag-printed one swapped out for a striped one. It looked practical AND comfortable.

Tsubaraba's was a simple yet stylish light brown duster with similar cargo pants – most likely bulletproof and a dark base layer underneath. Monoma looked like he'd just stepped out of a masquerade ball with his stylish tuxedo and domino mask. Shinsou's was a sleek purple and grey undersuit with a high-tech mouthguard around his face and a very familiar-looking capture weapon, just like the one their homeroom teacher used. The rest of the class was decked out in equally incredible costumes, and the whole ensemble looked professional and ready to do good in the world.

"Excuse me, All Might, sir" Iida said, raising his hand. "This is one of the training grounds from the entrance exam; will we be fighting fake villains in urban battle training again?"

"**NOT QUITE, YOUNG MAN**" All Might said. "**ALTHOUGH MOST VILLAIN FIGHTS SEEN ON THE NEWS ARE OUTDOORS, ALMOST 80% OF VILLAIN ENCOUNTERS TAKE PLACE INDOORS. BACKROOM DEALS, HOME INVASIONS, UNDERGROUND LAIRS, ET CETERA. THE WORST VILLAINS KNOW TO STAY IN THE SHADOWS.**"

The giant paused a moment, then continued. "**FOR THIS EXERCISE, YOU SHALL ALL BE SPLIT INTO TEAMS OF TWO. ONE TEAM WILL BE VILLAINS PROTECTING A FAKE BOMB IN A BUILDING, AND THE OTHER WILL BE HEROES SEARCHING FOR THE BOMB. ANY QUESTIONS?**"

"Sir, will you be deciding who wins?" asked Yaoyorozu. "**UHHHHHHH…**"

"How much can we beat the other guys up?" Bakugo growled, grinning. "**WELL-!**"

"Will we have to worry about getting expelled like yesterday?" asked Uraraka. "**WELL, NO-!**"

"Are we being paired up by chance or skill level?" Iida questioned. "**HOLD ON-!**"

"Isn't this cape _trés chic_?" Aoyama wondered aloud, sparkling all the while.

"**OKAY OKAY, HOLD YOUR HORSES, KIDDOS. I'M SUPER-STRONG, NOT SUPER GOOD AT HEARING RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS!**" All Might said, waving his hands wildly. "**TO WIN, THE HEROES MUST RECOVER THE WEAPON OR CAPTURE THE VILLAINS WITHIN 15 MINUTES. IF TIME RUNS OUT OR THE VILLAINS CAPTURE THE HEROES, THEY WIN. YOUR TEAMS WILL BE DECIDED BY DRAWING LOTS!**"

"Sounds like some of my dad's classic action movies…" Jiro said.

"Isn't there a better way than drawing lots?" asked Iida, with Bakugo and Midoriya shaking their heads.

"Think about it. You don't always have the luxury of choosing your partners" Bakugo muttered.

"Yeah! Many pros have to team up with each other by chance to suit the needs of the situation at hand. That might be why it's like this" Midoriya said, holding one finger up.

"Truly impressive reasoning, you two. Life is a series of random events. Please forgive my rudeness!" Iida said, bowing while the others cringed slightly.

"**ANYWAY, LET'S DRAW LOTS!**" said All Might, holding out the box.

"**TEAM A IS TODOROKI AND JIRO!**" The two regarded each other silently.

"**TEAM B IS YAOYOROZU AND MIDORIYA!**" The dark-haired girl smiled warmly. "Glad to be on the same team as you, Deku" she said.

"Oh! N-N-Nice to w-work with you too!" the boy stammered. "_Okay, no bad thoughts!_" Bakugo had already started snickering in the background at the situation. "_Shut UP, Kacchan…_"

"**TEAM C IS BAKUGO AND KODAI!**" The blonde was startled out of his silent laughing fit by the Symbol of Peace's face. "_Kodai?_" he wondered, before noticing the silent brunette clad in red and white approaching him. She stopped in front of him.

After a few moments of awkward silence between them, the explosive blonde spoke up. "So…are you a Pokémon Trainer, an Ultraman or something else…?" he asked.

After a few moments, a very quiet voice spoke up. "A bit of both."

Bakugo grinned. "Not bad, Seven, not bad…"

"**TEAM D IS URARAKA AND MONOMA!**" The round-faced brunette looked over to the blonde copycat. "Neito-kun! Let's do our best!" she said cheerily.

"R-Right…" Monoma responded awkwardly, clearly not used to people addressing him in such a friendly manner.

"**TEAM E IS TSUBARABA AND TOKOYAMI!**" The bug-eyed brunette boy enthusiastically grinned at his partner, while the raven-headed teen shook his head slightly. "What a mad banquet of darkness…"

"**TEAM F IS ASUI AND SERO!**" The plain-faced tape boy flashed a thumbs-up to his froggy partner. She regarded him for a moment, then cheerily croaked in agreement. "_Kero!_" It was possibly the most adorable noise Midoriya had heard in his life.

"**TEAM G IS AWASE AND KIRISHIMA!**" The spiky redhead approached the headbanded boy. "Yo! You seem pretty manly!" he said.

A rare grin spread across Awase's face. "Fuck yeah!" he agreed, the two exchanging a manly handshake.

"**TEAM H IS SHINSOU AND KAMINARI!**" The electric blonde looked warily at his purple-haired partner, who appeared to be indifferent to the whole thing. "Let's…do our best?" Kaminari said.

"Yeah…let's" his partner responded, a small smile gracing his lips under his mask.

"**TEAM I IS ASHIDO AND SHOJI!**" The quiet multi-armed boy was taken aback by his energetic pink-skinned friend. "We're winning this, Shoji!" she said cheerily.

A mouth on a tentacle responded to her. "I agree."

"**AND FINALLY, TEAM J IS AOYAMA AND IIDA!**" The two shining knights regarded each other. "_Merci_, I appreciate having a partner whose shine is like my own" the half-French blonde said.

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Aoyama!" Iida said, bowing his head.

"**NOW, FOR THE FIRST MATCHUP…**" the Symbol of Peace said, reaching into a hat and drawing out two small balls with letters on them. "**TEAM D AS THE HEROES VERSUS TEAM B AS THE VILLAINS!**" Midoriya locked eyes with Monoma, who smirked slightly.

"Let's do our best out there, Deku, Yaomomo!" Uraraka said all too cheerfully, given that they were about to beat the living hell out of each other.

"R-Right…" Midoriya said.

A few minutes later, the two teams and All Might arrived at the building the fake bomb was in. "**YOUNG MIDORIYA, YOUNG YAOYOROZU…THE KEY TO BEING SUCCESSFUL VILLAINS IS TO EMBODY VILLAINY!**" the pro stated, while the two took his advice to heart. "**YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO SET UP BEFORE THE HEROES WILL MOVE IN. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!**" The building in question was a large office building with several open sections in it.

"So…here's the objective we have to protect" Midoriya said, while knocking on the fake weapon, before turning to his partner. "Yaomomo, your Quirk can create any nonliving object as long as you know its' molecular structure, right?" he asked.

The raven-haired girl nodded in agreement.

"I see…between your Quirk and mine, I have some useful ideas we can put into play…" the greenette tailed off menacingly.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the building, Uraraka and Monoma looked over their map of the building's interior. "Man, this is really hard to memorize..." Uraraka said, while the blonde intently studied the map. "Based on the map of this building, they could only put it on the fifth or third floors; all the other rooms are too small for a bomb to be in" Monoma noted. "So, how do you think they'll come at us?" asked Uraraka.

"If it was anyone else paired with Yaomomo, they'd probably attack us directly and leave her to defend…but since it's Izu paired with her, we don't know for sure what they'll do…but I have a few ideas" Monoma astutely analyzed, using the friendly nicknames that the group had decided for each other: Yaomomo for Momo, Izu or Deku for Izuku, Katsu for Katsuki (he made it clear that for the time being, only Izuku would get to call him Kacchan), Nei-kun for Neito, 'Toshi for Hitoshi, Ten-chan for Tenya and Chako for Ochako. They'd bonded quite nicely over dinner at the Midoriyas' the previous night, although unfortunately the poor brunette's idea of friendship bracelets was shot down.

The alarm klaxons sounded around the training ground, signaling that the five minutes were up and it was time to begin. Uraraka and Monoma rushed in through the door and made it through the first floor without issue, but halfway down the first hallway on the second floor, Monoma suddenly tensed up.

"Something's wrong. This has been easier than it should be" he said…right as Uraraka stepped on something. And then there was a bright burst of heat and light as the flashbang landmine (seriously, were those even a thing?) detonated, sending the round-faced girl flying and briefly blinding and deafening her partner.

Looking down the hall, they noticed that the entire walkway was heavily booby-trapped with tripwires and land mines. "Okay, so that's a no-go…they're trying to force us to take one single route through the building to get to them…they want us to be predictable" the blonde said.

"How are supposed to beat them?!" Uraraka wondered.

Monoma smiled slyly. "By thinking outside the box" he said, a gleam in his eye.

The hero team exited the building, Monoma grasping Uraraka's hand. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready!" the round-faced girl responded. The two of them then touched a hand to each of their cheeks, and with gravity's pull negated, the floated up, making sure to use the building to slow their ascent.

As soon as they reached the third floor, Monoma signaled for them to stop, before whispering to Uraraka. "This is the first of the spots they could hide it." The round-faced brunette nodded in response, before opening the window and stepping inside. The bomb sat there, completely unguarded.

"That's odd…" the copycat blonde said, before stepping up to the bomb. Sure enough, the bomb had, scrawled on one side, "NICE TRY!" in red paint.

"They tricked us!" the brunette cried.

"On the plus side, we now know exactly where they are" Monoma said, before continuing. "On the downside, they'll be expecting us…but most likely from one of the doors, not the window" he said, smirking lightly. The hero team exited through the window and rappelled up the side of the building to the fifth-floor window. Sure enough, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu were standing guard, staring at the door.

Uraraka started to climb through the open window, but at this point Monoma's danger senses were going off. "Chako, don't-!" he began, but it was too late.

Uraraka barely had time to dodge the onslaught of paintballs coming at her from both sides, before having to sidestep some falling glue and a small jet of fire from the floor. "_It was a trap…they knew we'd be coming in through the window!_" Monoma thought in horror, before sharpening his gaze. "_I have to get in there. I can't let Chako fight them alone!_"

With that, the copycat blonde shot through the window, his gravity still negated, before pulling out something useful he'd collected earlier. Touching his hand to the thin strand of red hair, he landed in front of Midoriya as he deactivated Uraraka's Quirk and instead hardened his entire body, delivering a powerful punch to the greenette.

"Hey! That's my Quirk!" Kirishima shouted in the battle center.

"How'd he do it?" Sero wondered aloud.

Monoma smirked, before swiping his finger across an ash-blonde lock of hair. Midoriya had recovered from the blow and was charging in again when the grey-eyed blonde unleashed a blast of heat and force from his hand.

"Isn't that Bakugo's Quirk?" Ashido asked.

"When did he even-?" the explosive blonde in question growled.

_Neito Monoma. His Quirk: Copy! He can copy any Transformation or Emitter Quirk for five minutes after making contact with the user's DNA!_

"That's not all the tricks up my sleeve!" Monoma shouted, before dashing towards Midoriya. The greenette instinctively dodged to the right…only for Monoma to dash to the left and swipe a finger through Yaoyorozu's luxurious black hair.

The buxom girl snuck a quick glance at him, before Uraraka charged her again and very nearly tagged her with Zero Gravity.

"Let's see..." the blonde began, as a vial of clear liquid shimmered into existence from his left hand. "…If you combine nitric acid…" A smaller bottle of pine-scented amber liquid shimmered into existence in his right hand. "…With turpentine, you get a nice little bit of boom!" The two vials flew through the air and into a nearby wall, before a powerful blast set the concrete ablaze.

The sound and sudden heat drew the attention of the villain team, which was exactly what the heroes needed. "CHAKO, NOW!" Monoma shouted. The round-faced girl tagged the distracted Yaoyorozu and floated her into the air.

"No!" the ponytailed girl shouted. Midoriya heard his partner's shout and realized that both Monoma and Uraraka were heading for the bomb. He swiped his hand across the floor and activated his Quirk, but it was too late.

The blonde copycat and gravity girl made contact with the bomb at the exact same time. "**THE WEAPON HAS BEEN SECURED! THE HERO TEAM…WINS!**"

Midoriya's Quirk was still at work, however, and as the flames on the concrete froze, the wall itself and part of the floor transformed into a golden-brown substance. The boy shut his Quirk off before anything could happen, but where the floor and wall used to be concrete, there was now a foot or so of graham crackers.

"Have I ever told you that your Quirk is really weird, Izu?" the blonde copycat asked, as Uraraka released Yaoyorozu from her midair entrapment.

"Yeah, you have. Within the past hour, in fact" the greenette deadpanned.

* * *

"**WELL, NOW THAT THAT'S OVER, WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO ENLIGHTEN US AS TO WHO THE MVP IS?**" the Symbol of Peace asked, voice booming in the battle center.

Iida raised his hand. "I believe that Midoriya deserved MVP for devising a plan to successfully deal with the hero team. Planting mines and traps on the first floor to direct them up the stairwell, and then security cameras to tell whether they'd approach from inside or outside…truly a brilliant strategy!" the tall boy said stiffly.

"Shouldn't it be someone from the hero team, since they were the winners?" Asui asked.

"**NOT NECESSARILY**" All Might responded to the frog girl.

Midoriya raised his hand. "Actually sir, I believe Yaoyorozu deserves MVP. A plan is only as good as the resources available for it, and thanks to Yaoyorozu's Quirk I had everything I needed and then some, and she till did well in evading Uraraka for a while. Monoma was a brilliant fighter and strategist, but setting off a chemical fire in a small enclosed space as a distraction might not be his finest moment." At this, the grey-eyed blonde scratched his head sheepishly. "And Uraraka ended up getting too carried away fighting Yaoyorozu and almost got captured."

All Might looked impressed. "**VERY WELL SAID, YOUNG MIDORIYA. IN THAT CASE, I BELIEVE I MUST NAME YOUNG YAOYOROZU MVP AFTER ALL!**"

The raven-haired beauty flushed red. "T-Thank you" she said, happy for the recognition.

"**NOW THEN, LET'S GET THE NEXT MATCH UNDERWAY! TEAM G AS THE HEROES VS TEAM E AS THE VILLAINS!**"

The next match was an interesting matchup between a near perfect defense (Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, and Tsubaraba and his Solid Air shields, which formed invisible traps in the hallways of a faux apartment complex) and a very strong offense (Kirishima and the surprisingly battle-competent Awase). The match ended when time ran out, giving the villain team the win.

During the battle, Awase had tried attacking Tokoyami (physically not the strongest individual) directly and almost succeeded in taking him out of the battle, only failing when the raven-headed teen improvised a new move on the fly by wrapping himself in his Quirk to increased his strength.

He named it the "Transcendent Abyssal Armor", but everyone agreed that this was kind of a dumb, overly verbose name and he reluctantly renamed it to "Black Ankh". Tokoyami was also named MVP.

_Fumikage Tokoyami. His Quirk: Dark Shadow! He has a dark spirit living inside him that he can use for attack or defense!_

The third matchup was Team A (heroes) vs Team I (villains). After Jiro pinpointed the location of Ashido and Shoji, Todoroki froze the entire warehouse they were in solid. Ashido broke out and attempted to fight Todoroki, but ultimately her acid wasn't strong enough to beat the bichromatic boy. The hero team won with a flawless victory in just over a minute, and Todoroki was unquestionably named MVP.

As Todoroki defrosted the building, he muttered a low apology. "I'm sorry…we're just on different playing fields."

_Shoto Todoroki. His Quirk: Half Cold-Half Hot. He produces ice from his right side and fire from his left. His limits are unknown._

The fourth match was Hero Team H against Villain Team F. From start to finish the whole thing was a heavily contentious battle, but ultimately Shinsou's Brainwashing helped secure a victory for he and Kaminari. The electric blonde had also demonstrated surprising competency, creating a long-range electric attack without frying himself in the form of small balls of electricity, but ultimately Asui won MVP for beating Kaminari and almost taking down Shinsou.

Finally, it was time for the fifth match. On one side, Team J as the dastardly villain duo. On the other, Team C as the heroic squadron of justice. As with the other groups, All Might escorted all of the four combatants to the testing ground, a mockup reproduction of a steel factory. After giving his usual advice to both teams, he retreated to the battle center and started the five-minute countdown.

Outside the mill, Bakugo decided to get a better feeling for the matchup. "_Now, what would Deku do?_" Turning to his partner, the ever-stoic Yui Kodai, he decided he'd start by learning more about his partner. "So, Seven, what's your Quirk?" the blonde growled gruffly, coming off maybe a bit stronger than he'd intended.

Almost like a whisper, the girl responded. "Size. I can make objects grow or shrink by touching my fingers together."

The blonde grinned. "Alright, I can work with that. So here's the fuckin' plan…"

The alarm klaxons blared, and the hero team made their entry through a side entrance to the steel mill. "Their location isn't immediately obvious…" the blonde noted with unusual softness. "But that's what most villains do; my best bet is that they'll be keeping it hidden in one of the cauldrons or in one of the storage rooms."

He then turned to his quiet partner. "Seven, they'll most likely send Ten-chan out to fight us, given that he's got the most combat power – Sparkles isn't very good at anything other than long-range blasts with those annoying glitter lasers of his. I'll deal with him when he comes to us, you go on ahead and find Sparkles. I trust you enough to know you won't fuck up against that French airhead. Got it?" The dark-haired girl nodded in response.

"Good. Let's fuck 'em up!"

The duo landed on the floor of the factory in an attempt to draw Iida out…an attempt that worked, as soon enough the metal-clad engine boy burst out of a stack of crates and landed a heavy hit that the ash-blonde barely blocked with his gauntlets.

"Get going, Seven!" he shouted at his partner, who nodded and took off towards another section of the factory.

"Halt! I demand of you!" the engine boy shouted, trying to rush towards Kodai only to be cut off by Bakugo.

"Your opponent's me, Tenya!" he roared, before blasting the taller teen back. "And seriously, what's with your mannerisms all of a sudden?!"

His opponent paused a moment, before starting to laugh. "You question my methods, Katsu? I saw fit to better play the role of a villain to become a great hero! To serve justice, I have dyed myself in the color of darkness. I am…" And at this point, Bakugo could swear there were purple kanji floating in the air around the other teen. "…EXTREMELY EVIL!" At this, Iida ripped off his helmet to reveal a face that was probably supposed to be the utmost expression of villainy, but looked more like constipation from an outsider's perspective.

At this point, Bakugo found himself unable to remain serious anymore and busted up laughing, much to the confusion of the watchers in the Battle Center. "Jesus fucking Christ, Tenya, I can't fucking take you seriously if you get into character that much!" the blonde wheezed out, all but crying in mirth.

"Uhhhhhhh…okay, hero! I, uhhhhhhhh, will attempt to take you more seriously and be a more serious threat myself! Have at thee!" And with that, the blue-haired boy placed his helmet back on his head and zoomed over to Bakugo, striking his with a surprise attack. "A surprise attack! How truly villainous!" he gloated, before running off.

The blonde twitched, before exploding. "GET BACK HERE, ENGINES!" he roared, chasing Iida. The engine boy calmly zigzagged his way through the maze of conveyors and crucibles, humming a catchy Eurobeat tune to drown out the explosions and cursing behind him.

"Is this normal?" Kirishima asked, turning to Midoriya. The greenette was muttering quietly and writing in his notebook about the matchup.

"All _too_ normal" was his only response, earning a collective sweatdrop from the class.

Meanwhile, Kodai had navigated her way to an open-floor office space looking out over the factory floor. Sure enough, inside the office, where there would normally be cubicles, there stood a fake bomb and one Yuga Aoyama, twinkling brightly.

"Ah, _Ma Cherie_, it seems you've finally made it!" the half-French boy exclaimed. "Now I must that you kindly surrender!"

With that, a blast of glittering light sprung from the boy's belt. The girl dodged, but her face took on a look of irritation, before she slung a couple of small metallic objects from her belt and touched her fingers together. The nuts, bolts and ball bearings immediately enlarged to impressive proportions, although not too big to dodge or destroy…but due to their number, Aoyama was forced on the defensive, putting him further and further from the bomb.

Back on the factory floor, Bakugo had pursued Iida back to a position near the bomb's hiding place and had the boy cornered. "Come quietly, Engines. I don't want to be forced to apprehend you the hard way, fucker" the blonde growled, holding his right arm out.

"Try me, _hero_" Iida snarled.

"Suit yourself" Bakugo responded, drawing an object out of his pocket and tossing it in the air, before placing it in his palm. "Special Move: Explosive Pitch!" he roared, launching the tiny coin from his palm while tapping his communicator. "SEVEN, NOW!"

The dark-haired girl touched her fingers together and the coin enlarged into a disc of metal the size of a jumbo pizza hurtling at Iida with explosive force. "NOOOOOOO! IN THE NAME OF VILLAINY, I DEMAND YOU _CEASE_!" the engine boy yelled dramatically as the disc slammed into him and knocked the wind out of him, giving the explosive blonde time to grab him.

"**TENYA IIDA HAS BEEN CAPTURED!**" All Might's voice boomed.

"Good going, Ten-chan. Now…I'd better go make sure that Seven and I fuckin' win!" the blonde said, before rocketing towards the bomb room, crashing through the glass. "Give it up, Frenchie!" he shouted, aiming a palm towards Aoyama…who suddenly looked a lot less sparkly.

"I…I…I will not yield so easily! _Non! Non Non Non!_" the French blonde shouted, before a beam of light shot from his midsection, forcing Bakugo and Kodai to dodge again.

"Shit…he's really not giving us any openings; he's determined to run down the clock" the blonde growled, before removing a grenade from his belt and opening a latch on his gauntlet. "Seven! I need a distraction!" he shouted, as he started draining nitroglycerin from the collection chambers in his gauntlets. He had to be careful as to how much went in; too much and some serious damage could be done.

The grenade filled about a third of the way with his sweat before he shut it off. With a cry of "DIE!", he lobbed it at the other blonde, whose eyes widened as the grenade exploded into a thick cloud of smoke. Before Aoyama could regain his bearings, Bakugo had physically tossed Kodai to the bomb, where she calmly laid one hand on it.

"**WEAPON CAPTURED! THE HERO TEAM IS VICTORIOUS!**" All Might stated as Bakugo grinned at his partner, before the duo silently high-fived.

In the observation room, Midoriya wiped an imaginary tear from his face. "Look at that. Little Kacchan's growing up and making friends on his own" he said, as Uraraka and Monoma snickered in the background.

As the four combatants were gathered once more in the Battle Center, All Might stated the usual questions again. "**WHO WAS MVP, AND WHY?**" he asked.

Monoma raised a hand. "I find it odd that I'm saying this" he said, shooting a trolling expression at Bakugo. "But I believe Bakugo deserves MVP. He devised a rational strategy for him and his partner to win the match at little or no cost to themselves, and it worked spectacularly. Kodai was also invaluable in this plan, but had she pressed her advantage against Aoyama, she could have concluded the match even sooner.

"Speaking of Aoyama, he did reasonably well himself, but when caught off guard by Kodai's strategy, he made a major error in moving away from the objective instead of towards it" the grey-eyed blonde said, before concluding his statement. "Finally, Iida served his purpose very well and was an excellent distraction for the hero team, but he got too far into character, all things considered. He was practically chewing up the scenery by the time he was captured; no wonder Bakugo couldn't keep a straight face."

The copycat turned to face the class. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Katsuki Bakugo should be named MVP of this trial."

The class stood in silence for a few moments, before Iida started applauding, the others joining in shortly afterwards. "**AN EXCELLENT ANALYSIS, YOUNG MONOMA, AND ONE I TRULY AGREE WITH! YOUNG BAKUGO IS THE MVP OF THIS EXERCISE INDEED!**" The blonde bomber smirked, before a green blur tackled him.

"Good job, Kacchan!" Midoriya said.

"Only as good a job as you did, Deku"

"**AAAAAAAND THAT'S ALL, KIDS! VERY WELL DONE TODAY! WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY MAJOR INJURIES AND YOU ALL DEMONSTRATED A COMPETENCY BEYOND YOUR YEARS!**" All Might said to the students gathered at the exit of Training Ground Beta.

Asui raised her hand. "It's really nice to hear some words of encouragement after yesterday's homeroom class. Aizawa-sensei was a bit discouraging" the frog girl said, the rest of the class nodding in agreement.

"**I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO BRING SUCH POSITIVITY TO MY OLD SCHOOL. NOW, I'M OUTTA HERE. WATCH HOW A PRO EXITS: LIKE HE'S GOT SOMEWHERE TO BE!**"

With that, All Might turned and zoomed off towards the main campus at ridiculous speeds, trailing steam behind him; his time limit for the day almost up.

"Okay…that was cool!" Kaminari said.

"Man, I know I'll never run that fast…" Awase lamented.

The blonde pro ducked inside a "faculty only" service entrance and powered down just in time. "God dammit, I'm pathetic. I can't even teach a class nowadays" he scowled, angry and frustrated with himself.

And so, another day at UA High drew to a close for the hero course students…unaware of the evil waiting for them in the shadows.

* * *

**ON THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**It's time to pick a class representative! How normal! Also, there's totally no way this school field trip can go wrong, right? Right. Stay tuned for more!**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**Man, this chapter was hard to write after a while! I hope some of the characters weren't too OOC…I often worry about that when dealing with non-canon friendships or canon ones in a non-canon setting. Next time, we begin the USJ, and the wondrous can of worms that it is.**

**If you're wondering about Bakugo calling Kodai "Seven", it's in reference to the tokusatsu show Ultraseven, whose main character was a major inspiration for Kodai's costume.**

**This chapter's title comes from the song "Smile Like You Mean It" by The Killers**


	5. 5: The Real World (Stop Hassling Me)

**CHAPTER 5: THE REAL WORLD (STOP HASSLING ME)**

* * *

Reporters. SO. MANY. REPORTERS.

This was the sight that greeted the students of UA the next morning, as the media crowded the front gate of the school hoping for a juicy scoop from or about the Symbol of Peace. "What the hell is up with these extras, Deku?" Bakugo asked in annoyance, before shooing a reporter away.

"Oh hey, you're those two kids from the Sludge Villain Incident!" one of them said, earning a look of anger from both the boys.

"Listen up, fuckers! If you mention that fucking incident ever again, I'm going to kick your asses so hard that your vertebrae will pop out of your mouth one at a time like a fucking Pez Dispenser!" the blonde snapped, causing the reporters to draw away with a gasp.

"Besides, we're all Business Course students. The hero course was given the day off" Midoriya added. Immediately, half the crowd retreated like the Dynamic Duo had the plague, and several groups left the area wholesale, vans retreating to find a better scoop.

"I'll get the scoop myself!" one intrepid reporter said, marching up to the gate…when the security measures activated and a massive multi-layered barrier wall sprung up and blocked off any entry into the school. While the reporters lamented how unfruitful their two-day stakeout for a scoop had been, a lanky blue-haired figure stared at the gate…

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia, opening 1 – The Day**

**_Shizukesa ga shimikomu you de iki wo tometa gozen goji_**

**_Hijou kaidan de tsume wo kamu Asu wa docchi da?_**

**_THE DAY HAS COME!_**

_All Might is shrouded in golden light. Midoriya and Bakugo reach out to him and the Symbol of Peace turns around to face the duo. The title is shown as an image of each member of 1-A is shown: Uraraka, Iida, Asui, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Jirou, Shoji, Sero, Tokoyami, Aoyama, Awase, Ashido, Kodai, Tsubaraba, Monoma, Shinsou, and Todoroki, in order._

**_Keshite akenai yoru mo furitsuzukete yamanai ame mo_****_  
Kono rokudemo nai sekai ni wa aru nda yo  
Sukoshi mo hen de wa nai no madoromi ni ashi o torareteru  
Anata o semete iru wake ja nai nda yo_**

_The day of the Sludge Villain incident plays out as several clips, with falling notebooks shadowed in the background._

**_Hitori kūsō ni asobu  
Soko de omoiegaita koto made hajiru no kai?_**

_Midoriya and Bakugo are shown as children, before the scene shifts into them as teenagers, joined by Monoma, Yaoyorozu, Iida, Shinsou and Uraraka. Shigaraki appears and reaches towards the screen._

**_Karamiau meikyū meikyū soredemo yuku to iu no?  
Chīsaki tabibito ga kanaderu hajimari no kane no ne_**

_All Might and the Nomu engage in a brawl as Aizawa deals with several minor villains. Kurogiri appears briefly. A few other UA teachers are shown: Nezu, Present Mic, Midnight and Recovery Girl, before the scene shifts again._

**_Yuku ate mo DON'T KNOW DON'T KNOW_**

**_Hontō wa kowain ja nai no?_****_  
Fumidasu sono ippo ippo ga kaete yukeru sa  
THE DAY HAS COME_**

_Uraraka, Iida, Shinsou, Todoroki, Monoma, Yaoyorozu and Bakugo are shown running onscreen, before the scene cuts to Midoriya in his hero costume, swiping a finger across the ground as it changes into a path for him. The opening concludes with a few shots of the students, then an image of the main cast posing in front of UA._

* * *

Class 1-A's homeroom class began with Aizawa offering words of encouragement and criticism to the students in regards to the Battle Trial from the previous day, before his tone shifted. "The next task you have for today will decide your future at UA…you'll need to pick a class president."

"_That's really normal!_" the class thought.

"I don't care how you do it, just decide somehow. I'm going to sleep" the disheveled pro said, zipping himself into his sleeping bag and hiding behind his desk.

Everyone immediately offered themselves up, shouting loudly and wildly. "ENOUGH! IT SHOULD BE DECIDED BY A VOTE!" Iida bellowed, shutting everyone up. The other students could immediately tell he really wanted the position.

"Won't we just vote for ourselves or the people we already know?" Asui asked.

"That only means the one with the most votes has already earned the respect of their peers!" Iida responded.

At this, Midoriya raised his hand. "Hold on, everyone. We've got the entire period to decide; why don't we do introductions and nominate people for the job. Anyone who gets multiple votes moves on to the next round. Everyone can just introduce themselves, their Quirk, and say something about themselves." Loud murmurs of agreement ran through the class, and a few minutes later the teens all sat in a big circle.

"_Bonjour_, everyone! My name is Yuga Aoyama, and my Quirk is the flashy, powerful Navel Laser! I'm half-French, and was born in Bordeaux! My favorite food is _Cabécou_ cheese, and my only hobby is fashion design!" The Frenchman went first, getting some…interesting stares from the rest of the class.

"A fellow foreigner! This is a blessed day!" Monoma said, grinning at Aoyama.

Next up was the pink-skinned Chiba native. "Hey guys! The name's Mina Ashido, and my Quirk is Acid! I'm originally from Chiba, and I've known Kirishima since forever! My favorite pastime is breakdancing!" she said cheerily, waving to the spiky redhead, who waved back eagerly.

"Tsuyu Asui. My Quirk is Frog, and it allows me to do anything a frog can. My favorite thing to do is go on walks on rainy days" the frog girl introduced herself, before the next student stood up.

"I'm Tenya Iida, and my Quirk is Engine! I'm very proud to be at this prestigious school, and my main hobby is studying!" Several people sweatdropped at Iida's intensity.

"Hiiii! I'm Ochako Uraraka, and my Quirk is Zero Gravity! I'm from Mie, and my favorite thing to do is stargaze!" the round-faced brunette said, waving.

"Neito Monoma; my Quirk is Copy. I'm half-Dutch and I was born just outside Rotterdam, although I lived in Chiba for almost a decade. My favorite hobby is French cooking." Aoyama practically shined at the words of the other foreigner.

"Yo! Denki Kaminari's the name, and Electrification is my game! I'm from Saitama, and I like playing fighting games!" the electric blonde introduced himself.

"Hey guys! I'm Eijiro Kisishima, and my Quirk is Hardening! I'm from Chiba, and my favorite thing is manliness!" the spiky redhead all but shouted, banging his fists together.

Next up was the headbanded boy. "'Sup, fuckers? I'm Yosetsu Awase, and my Quirk is Welding! I'm from Niigata, and I like tinkering with shit and playing video games!"

He was followed by the bug-eyed brunette. "Hey. I'm Kosei Tsubaraba, and my Quirk is Solid Air. I'm from Kagawa, and a big fan of tokusatsu shows."

The huge multi-armed boy duplicated a mouth on one of his arms and began to speak. "Mezo Shoji; my Quirk is Dupli-Arms. I don't really have any hobbies, but I do enjoy takoyaki. I'm from Fukuoka." Several students snickered at the irony of the octopus-like student enjoying takoyaki.

The punk girl raised her hand. "Kyoka Jiro; Earphone Jack. I like music and I'm from Shizuoka."

Next up was Sero. "Hey everyone! Hanta Sero at your service; my Quirk is called Tape! I'm from Tokyo and I enjoy video games!" He, Awase and Kaminari shared a glance at that.

"I am Fumikage Tokoyami, and my Quirk is the beastly manifestation of the abyss, Dark Shadow. I have come from Shizuoka, and my hobby is gazing into the endless darkness" the raven-headed boy said. "_Nerd_" the class thought immediately.

"Shoto Todoroki, Half-Cold Half-Hot. I'm from Shizuoka, and my favorite hero is All Might" the bichromatic teen stated coolly.

The silent dark-haired girl from the last row began softly. "Yui Kodai. Size. Shimane. Tokusatsu shows. Collecting nesting dolls."

Bakugo went next. "Listen up, extras! The name's Katsuki Bakugo, and my Quirk is Explosion. I'm from Shizuoka, and I've known Deku since preschool! I like rock climbing and cooking!"

Seeing that as his cue, Midoriya went next. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, and my Quirk is Lucky Draw. I'm from Shizuoka, and I like analyzing Quirks."

He was followed by Shinsou. "Hitoshi Shinsou, Brainwashing. I'm from Saitama and I like cats. I'm not interested in running."

The last to go was the dark-haired ponytail girl. "Momo Yaoyorozu. My Quirk is Creation" she said, popping out a nesting doll and handing it to Kodai. "I'm from Aichi, and I love reading encyclopedias." The rest of the class couldn't help but feel like they'd just been casually flexed on.

"Nominations, anyone?" Midoriya asked. Ashido immediately nominated Kirishima, who nominated her in return. Kodai nominated Yaoyorozu, and Shinsou nominated Midoriya. Midoriya himself nominated Bakugo, while Yaoyorozu nominated Monoma. Uraraka nominated Iida and Jiro nominated Asui, and with that, scraps of paper were passed around.

A few minutes later, the results were in. Ashido, Kirishima and Iida had all only got a single vote, so they didn't move on. The remaining candidates – Midoriya, Bakugo, Monoma, Yaoyorozu and Asui – all gave short speeches about why they were fit for the presidency. Midoriya made his statement very clear with a short speech. "Please don't vote for me, thanks."

"Alright extras! I'm your man if you want a strong, confident, competent leader who will drag all of you kicking and screaming to the top of the hero rankings with me!" Bakugo barked, earning scattered applause.

"I'm very devoted, and I will do my best to ensure we're the top class, bar none" was Monoma's simple statement.

Yaoyorozu launched into a long-winded speech that had to be cut off after five minutes.

Finally, Asui was up. "Hello everyone. If I'm elected president, I will represent our class in a friendly, professional and effective manner. Thank you." The slips of paper went around again, and the votes were tallied up.

"Well, I'll admit, this is a shock" Monoma said, seeing that he'd gotten the most votes.

"Looks like I'm working with you, Neito" Bakugo murmured.

Sure enough, the copycat blonde had gotten eight votes, followed by the explosive boy with six. Yaoyorozu had four, Asui had two, and the class had thankfully humored Midoriya's request and not voted for him.

"Congratulations. Your Class President is Monoma and your Vice-President is Bakugo. Now get out of here" Aizawa said, as he collapsed behind his desk again.

* * *

***cue My Hero Academia OST – Bright and Cheerful** *****

In the cafeteria, the Dynamic Duo sat at a mostly-empty table with Uraraka, Iida, Monoma, Shinsou and Yaoyorozu, enjoying Lunch Rush's incredible cooking, when they were approached by another classmate.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" asked the enormous but friendly figure of Mezo Shoji.

"Go right ahead" Shinsou said, gesturing to the seat to his left.

"Many thanks" Shoji said, taking a seat.

The copycat blonde looked to his Vice-President. "So Bakugo, now that we've been voted in, we still need to fill our three other positions" he said, the blonde raising an eyebrow. "Class Representative, Sports Festival Representative and Class Secretary" Monoma enumerated, raising a finger for each.

The ash-blonde looked around, before voicing his opinion. "Class Rep should definitely be Tenya. He's smart and knows how to give us a good public image…something we'll need as hero students, since we're also trying to market ourselves to the other classes, the pros and the general public."

Monoma stifled a laugh. "That was surprisingly eloquent, coming from you" he said, a teasing smirk on his face.

"What was that, Neito? I don't think I heard you right" the ash-blonde responded to the Class President, a couple small explosions dancing like firecrackers on his palm.

"N-Nevermind!"

Iida cleared his throat. "Katsuki, I would be honored to take this position!" he said, bowing stiffly.

"Whatever. Anyway, our Secretary…I'd say Yaoyorozu would do a good job" Bakugo continued, gesturing to the raven-haired girl.

"I thank you" the heiress said.

"And as for Sports Festival Rep, I'd go with Deku, honestly."

The greenette almost spit his _katsudon_ through his nose. "Wait, what?! Kacchan, are you insane? I'd have to speak in front of god-knows-how-many people and deliver _the_ Athlete's Oath!" he hissed, already terrified of the idea.

Bakugo scoffed at this. "First off, it would be good for you. Do you really think you can become a hero and be as camera-shy as you are? Come on. Second, if anyone can inspire the extras in the other classes AND our class to give it their all, it's you."

He then leaned in close. "Besides, if I went up there, I'd probably just tell everyone I'm gonna win and walk offstage to positively NUCLEAR heat from the extras. Might not be the best impression to leave."

The greenette looked conflicted for a few moments, before making up his mind. "Maybe you're right. I'll do it!" Midoriya said, looking up.

"Wanting a job and being qualified for it are two very different things; I've learned that much at my family's hero agency" Iida said, sipping his orange juice.

"Agency?" the rest of the table asked.

"I was hoping that people wouldn't find out about my family's legacy and treat me differently because of it" the tall boy lamented, as his friends gathered around him.

"The Iida Family have been pro heroes for generations" Iida explained, garnering wowed reactions from the others at the table. "I take it you know of the Turbo Hero, Ingenium?" he asked, immediately getting Midoriya's interest.

"Yeah! He's the super-popular pro with 65 sidekicks at his agency in Tokyo! Wait, don't tell me-!"

The tall boy straightened up proudly, pushing his glasses up. "That's right, he's my older brother! He's an unmatched commander who honors the hero code with every ounce of his being! He's always been my biggest inspiration, and I can only hope I carry the family's legacy with the same honor and grace he does!" he exclaimed with great pride.

"Wow! That's awesome!" Uraraka said, stars in her eyes.

"Alright, I'm going to unilaterally agree with your suggestions, Katsu. Our Class Rep is Iida, Secretary is Yaoyorozu and Sport Festival Rep is Midoriya" the grey-eyed blonde said, taking a sip from his plastic wine glass (full of grape juice, because he's very much a Dramatic BitchTM) "Anything else-!?" he began, before being cut off suddenly.

**RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRINGGGGG!**

A loud alarm sounded, jarring everyone in the cafeteria. "**WARNING: LEVEL 3 SECURITY BREACH!**" an automated voice stated. "**PLEASE EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!**"

Iida pulled an upperclassman aside. "Level 3? What does that mean?!"

The upperclassman looked at him, panic in his eyes. "It means someone's breached the security system and gotten onto school grounds! This hasn't happened in my entire time here! Let's get outta here!"

The exit of the cafeteria rapidly turned into a stampede, students jostling to escape and evacuate safely. "Dammit, I'm getting squashed!" Kirishima's distinctive voice yelled in the background.

"There's too many of them!" Uraraka exclaimed, sinking into the crowd.

Iida was pressed against a window. "_Who could have breached UA?_" he wondered, before glancing down at the school grounds, eyes widening at what he saw.

"It's just the press? How did they get in here?!" he asked.

"Oi! Tenya! Who the fuck got on campus?!" Bakugo demanded, as he too was squashed against the window.

"It's the press! We need to let these students know! But how can we get their attention?" the tall boy responded.

"Watch me!" the blonde responded, raising one hand. A small but very showy explosion erupted into the air, the heat and noise catching everyone's attention. Bakugo glared, before delivering the news.

"LISTEN UP, EXTRAS! IT'S JUST THE GODDAMN MEDIA! QUIET DOWN AND EVACUATE LIKE RATIONAL FUCKING ADULTS!" he bellowed, the eyes of the crowd glued on him. The students quieted down and the crowd slowly thinned; with the police finally arrive to detain the trespassers as lunch hour ended.

Outside, at the front gate, the school principal, a hero in a bulky space suit, Midnight, Recovery Girl and an orange-haired man in a construction-themed exosuit looked over the remains of the gate. The thick metal barrier had been decayed into ashes by some unknown Quirk. "No member of the media could have had a Quirk like this" the principal said. "This was most definitely the work of a villain, but the question is…is this a message, or a declaration of war?"

* * *

"Alright, today's lesson will be a little different, and you'll each be working in teams under your instructors" Aizawa said, before continuing. "Today's exercise is rescue training. We'll be conducting team-based exercises at an off-campus facility and will be taking a bus to get there. If you want to wear your costumes, that's okay, just remember that some might hinder your mobility. See you on the bus" Aizawa said, walking out of the room.

Twenty minutes later, as the bus rolled along towards their destination three kilometers from the main campus, the students engaged in conversation.

Asui in particular had something to say. "If we're pointing out the obvious, there's something I'd like to say – about you in particular, Midoriya" the frog girl said, turning to the boy on her left.

"R-Really?" The green-haired girl squinted at him.

"That power of yours…it's really weird, isn't it? How does it work?" she asked.

"Oh boy, here we go" Bakugo muttered to Monoma, who apparently would never get sick of hearing Midoriya explain 'the weirdest Quirk I've ever seen', in the copycat blonde's words. A few minutes later, and Midoriya had finished explaining all the weird intricacies of his powers.

"Woah…that's incredible" was all Kaminari could say about the greenette's Quirk.

"Still…it must be really cool having a flashy Emitter-type Quirk" Kirishima said, Hardening his arm. "My Quirk may be really strong, but it's kind of boring" he continued.

"No, that's a really cool Quirk. Definitely pro material, even if it's not that flashy" Midoriya said.

"Ah! My Navel Laser is the perfect combination of _finesse_ and _force_" Aoyama said, twinkling slightly.

"It's not very useful if you get a stomachache though" Ashido noted, as the blonde's spirits fell.

"If anyone in our class has pro-quality Quirks, it has to be Todoroki and Bakugo though" the spiky redhead said, gesturing at the two students. Bakugo scowled a bit, while Todoroki remained asleep.

"Sure…but with Bakugo's 'charming personality', I doubt he'll get far" Asui said, the blonde growling at her. "Frog-face…" he trailed off warningly.

Kaminari looked smug for a few moments, before adding his two cents. "Y'know, we only just met you, and already we know you have the personality of a burnt turd soaked in sewage."

And at this, Midoriya decided it was time for him to but in. "Look, Kaminari, Kacchan may be a bit…prickly…but if you earn his trust, he will never, EVER let you down, even if it costs him everything. In some regards, you couldn't be a worse judge of his character."

The electric blonde looked uncomfortable, as Monoma, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Iida and Shinsou glared at him. "Hear hear! Katsu really isn't bad at all, Pikachu!" Uraraka said.

Midoriya looked out the window, and recalled that morning when he'd rolled out of bed. He'd woken up with a bad feeling – never a good sign, given how attuned he was to the weird machinations of fate thanks to his bizarre Quirk – and thought that maybe it was just about the break-in, but the feeling hadn't subsided even afterwards, which was very worrying.

"Kacchan…I've got a bad feeling for some reason" he said.

The blonde opened one eye in slight irritation at first, but the moment he processed the statement he went wide-eyed. "Shit, that's not good. What do you think it's about?" he asked.

"I don't know. I thought it was the break-in earlier, but it's gotten worse since then."

"Deku isn't feeling good?" Uraraka asked.

"No, he's got a bad feeling; there's a difference" Bakugo said.

"But it's just a feeling. Does it really mean anything?" Tsubaraba asked.

"Yeah, it does. Deku's Quirk relates to fate in some weird way, so when he has a bad feeling, it's usually a warning that bad shit is about to go down. Last time it happened was three months ago, when a gas leak demolished an entire apartment block two streets down from where he lives" the blonde explained.

Midoriya turned to Yaoyorozu. "Yaomomo, can you make some communicators for us? Even if I'm wrong, we could still really use a way to communicate with each other remotely for rescue training" he said, the raven-haired girl nodding in understanding and producing twenty earbud-style communicators, which were quickly passed around the inside of the bus.

"Good thinking, Midoriya; I'm honestly a little impressed" Aizawa said, before looking out the window. "Look alive, everyone; we're here."

* * *

"Hello everyone! So glad you could make it!" the space suit-wearing pro standing outside the building said, waving to them.

"Wow! It's the Space Hero, Thirteen! She's saved a ton of people all over the world as a rescue hero!" Midoriya began gushing.

"Heck yeah! Thirteen is one of my favorite heroes! She's the one who inspired me to become a hero!" Uraraka fangirled.

"Come on in!"

Inside, the students were in awe of the massive facility. "Holy crap, it looks just like Universal Studios Japan!" Sero said.

"This is pretty cool, not gonna lie" Awase grinned.

"A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a hurricane, a snowy mountain and a destroyed cityscape. I designed this facility with the goal of being able to prepare students to work with any kind of disaster. I call it…the Unforseen Simulation Joint, AKA the USJ!" Thirteen said.

"_It really is Universal Studios Japan_" the students thought.

"We should probably get started" Aizawa said.

"Oh right!" Thirteen responded. "Before we begin I have just one thing I need to say…okay two. Possibly three, four or five." The students had looks of increasing boredom spreading across their faces.

"My Quirk, Black Hole, has been used to rescue people all over the world…but it could also easily be used to kill. Lots of Quirks are like that; they can be used to hurt or help, depending on their use. Many of you have Quirks like that too. So today, you'll be learning the rescue applications of your potentially dangerous Quirks, so that you can be a force of good in this world" the pro said. "Now, I have one more question for you students. Have you decided on your hero names yet?" At this, the students looked amongst each other for a few moments, before Bakugo raised his hand.

"Fuck it, I'll go first. I'm the Explosive Hero...Wipeout!" the blonde said, earning applause from several of his classmates. "_Thank you, Deku, for giving me an idea that wasn't some variation of 'King Explosion Murder'._"

Sero decided to throw his hat in the ring next. "I'm the Taping Hero, Cellophane!"

He was followed in close succession by Kaminari ("the Stun Gun Hero, Chargebolt!"), Jiro ("the Hearing Hero, Earphone Jack"), Awase ("the motherfuckin' Welding Hero, Acetylene"), Aoyama ("the Sparkling Hero, Chevalier") and Asui ("the Rainy Season Hero, Froppy; _kero_").

Monoma raised his hand proudly. "I'm the Copycat Hero, Phantom Thief!" the grey-eyed blonde stated.

Shinsou went next. "I'm the Deceptive Hero, Mockingbird."

Then came Tsubaraba ("the Barrier Hero, Glass!"), Tokoyami ("the Jet-Black Hero, Nevermore"), Shoji ("the Tentacle Hero, Tentacole"), Kodai ("Size Hero, Rule) and Kirishima ("the Sturdy Hero, Red Riot!").

Todoroki chose to be "the Zero-Degree Hero, Frost King", and Yaoyorozu chose "the Everything Hero, Genesis."

Ashido tried to be "the Acidic Hero, Alien Queen!", but when Monoma pointed out the possibility of litigation by the owners of _Alien_, the changed it to "the Acidic Hero, Pinky."

Iida then chose to be "the Gear Hero, Cambio!", and Uraraka chose "the Zero-G Hero, Infinity Girl!"

Finally it was Midoriya's turn. "Mine is one that's very near and dear to my heart. Once upon a time, it was an insult...but the same person who made it an insult also helped make it mean something more for me, as a nickname meaning that I can do anything." By this point, an enormous grin had overtaken Bakugo's face. "So, I'm the Bizarre Hero, Deku!"

Aizawa looked as unimpressed as ever. "Alright, now that that's out of the way, we should get started" he said…

And then everything went wrong.

***cue Rampaging Evil – My Hero Academia OST** *****

The lights flickered and went out, and the fountain in the center of the plaza stopped working. A hole in space began to form right there, and suddenly a wall of purple-black mist erupted in the middle of the plaza. Aizawa stiffened as a pale white hand reached through the mist and opened a hole in it, another hand with a bloodshot red eye and a head of blue hair behind it visible in the hole.

"Everyone, get back! Thirteen, protect the children!" Aizawa barked. Multiple figures began pouring out of the black mist, stalking past the hand's owner, a lanky young man with blue hair dressed all in black, with multiple severed hands attached to his body.

"Hold on, has training already begun?" Kirishima asked.

"I said stay back! This is real…those are real villains!" Aizawa said, donning his goggles, as a shiver of fear ran up the students' spines.

As the stream of villains ebbed, the mist rippled again, and an enormous, muscular black figure with an exposed brain and sharp teeth stepped through next to the skinny one, as the mist coalesced into a more humanoid form with glowing yellow eyes. Then, the blue-haired figure uttered seven words that chilled everyone present to the core.

"Time to kill the Symbol of Peace."

* * *

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF LUCK OF THE DRAW**

**Invasion! The students of 1-A find themselves in combat against real villains! How will they fare against the true evil of the world? Stay tuned to find out!**

* * *

**FROM THE FILES OF IZUKU MIDORIYA**

**Quirk Name: Explosion**

**User(s): Katsuki Bakugo**

**About: Explosion is a powerful mutation of Katsuki's parents' Quirks: Masaru Bakugo's Oxidizing Sweat, which makes him sweat nitric acid (wonder how many good shits have died that way), and Mitsuki Bakugo's Glycerin, which allows her to produce glycerin from her hands; these Quirks combined into Explosion, which allows Katsuki to sweat nitroglycerin sweat from his palms and soles. He has developed many, MANY uses of this incredible Quirk, from pseudo-flight to cauterizing wounds. Katsuki's natural intellect and practical knowledge allow him to be very creative in battle with his Quirk, and he had multiple super moves developed before the Entrance Exam, when most hero students wouldn't have gotten that far until late in their first year.**

**Techniques:**

**Stun Grenade: A distraction technique that acts like a flashbang grenade.**

**Smoke Grenade: A technique designed to create a thick smokescreen.**

**Bazooka Shoot: A powerful, double-handed explosion designed for long-range combat.**

**Blast Rush Turbo: A propulsion technique used to travel at high velocity.**

**Howitzer Impact: A devastating attack created using remarkable precision. The most powerful move in his arsenal at the moment. Comparable to a small missile in power.**

* * *

**NOTES:  
It's USJ time! This is my personal favorite arc to write, as based on my experience with Game Start. A few things worth noting…**

**My decision to make Monoma and Bakugo the Class President and VP: Monoma may seem like an odd choice, but since he won't be representing 1-A, will have Bakugo keeping him in check, and has his crippling insecurities slowly healing due to the friendship the other six have offered him, he won't be nearly as bad as Canon!Monoma, though he may have his moments.**

**Midoriya's "bad feeling": Since his Quirk plays with fate and probability to create favorable outcomes for him, it seemed to me like it'd be cool to have some sort of subconscious clairvoyance thing going on with it…and it also gave me an excuse to set the plot up for the students to kick even more ass in the next few chapters.**

**The section where the students decided hero names was entirely thanks to a suggestion by commenter dannythebookwyrm. Thank you very much for the input!**

**This chapter's title comes from the song "Real World" by Matchbox 20.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. 6: This is Just a Tribute

**CHAPTER 6: THIS IS JUST A TRIBUTE**

* * *

"Kill the Symbol of Peace."

"Curious. The only real heroes I see here are Thirteen and Eraserhead. According to the schedule we retrieved from UA, All Might should be here as well" the black mist spoke in a deep baritone.

"So, you pieces of shit used the media as a cover to sneak into UA" Aizawa said, raising his capture scarf.

The figure covered in hands spoke in a hissy, gravely voice. "Where is he? I went to the trouble of bringing along so many friends to play with All Might. Oh well…maybe he'll show if we kill a few kids, eh?" The small army of street thugs advanced towards the stairs, while the students looked down in horror.

* * *

***cue My Hero Academia Opening 1 – The Day** *****

* * *

"Why aren't the alarms going off?" Thirteen asked.

"They must have someone with a Quirk that's jamming the alarm signal and our communications! Kaminari, use your Quirk to contact UA!" 1-A's homeroom teacher said, as the electric blonde nodded and tapped his headset.

"Thirteen, you get the children out of here! I'll engage the enemy!" Aizawa continued, as his capture scarf began floating.

"But Aizawa-sensei, you're a close-range stealth fighter! You're at a massive disadvantage here!" Midoriya protested.

The pro glanced back at his students and flashed what was by his standards a smile. "No good hero is a one-trick pony." With that, the black-suited pro launched himself down the stairs, surprising a group of long-range fighters with his erasure powers and rapidly incapacitating them.

"Huh, he really does have them on the ropes" Midoriya said, in awe of his teacher's prowess.

The students rushed forward towards the doors, guarded by Thirteen, when a vortex of black mist appeared, and the two yellow eyes of the mist villain glared down at them. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave. After all, it would be a pain if someone other than the Symbol of Peace showed up. Our goal is very simple: we, the League of Villains, are here to kill All Might."

"I don't think so!" Bakugo roared, as he and Kirishima attacked the mist, dispersing it with a large explosion.

As the smoke cleared, it the mist villain gathered himself again. "Impressive. Just what I'd expect from a bunch of golden eggs. But strength alone won't save you" the villain monologued.

"Get back!" Monoma yelled, taking charge as Class President.

The villain shot tendrils of mist through the air, surrounding them in a cocoon of darkness. "I'll scatter you to meet my comrades across this facility!"

The students were swept up in a wave of darkness. Shoji grabbed Uraraka and Sero and leap to safety, while Monoma tackled Kaminari out of the mist. The rest found themselves falling towards the ground in each of the various zones around the USJ. And as he finished teleporting them, he said one more thing.

"I pray that your deaths, should you meet them, are as swift and painless as possible. Truly, I regret this, children."

* * *

When Hitoshi Shinsou woke up that morning, he was expecting a kind of boring day sitting in a classroom…not getting dropped into an artificial lake teeming with aquatic villains. As he splashed down, a shark-like villain swam towards him.

"Nothing personal, kiddo, but my orders are to kill everyone that falls in here…and that includes you!" he said, jaws open wide and ready to strike.

"_Looks like I'm going to die here. Well, hopefully my cats will be okay_" the boy thought, waiting to embrace his fate.

And then, like an avenging green angel, Asui slammed into the side of the villain, knocking him out. On her back, Midoriya clung on for dear life, as the frog girl snared Shinsou in her tongue and flung him through the air towards the boat. Thinking fast, the boy used his capture weapon to slow his descent, and he landed gently on the boat's deck. A few moments later, Midoriya was lowered to the deck of the boat as Asui climbed up the side of the boat.

"Thanks Asui!" Midoriya choked out.

"I thought I told you two to call me Tsu!" the frog girl responded as she climbed over the side of the boat. "This school trip has kinda sucked, to be honest" she said.

_Tsuyu Asui. Her Quirk: Frog! She's basically a frog-woman._

"So, we're on a boat, surrounded by villains, with no idea if any backup is on the way. Yay" Shinsou said.

"I'm kind of concerned about what that mist villain said. They clearly planned this attack out very well and likely think they have a way to kill All Might" Midoriya said.

"How do we get out of here, _kero_?" Asui asked.

"Alright. Think Izuku! Toshi can brainwash people if they respond to him. Tsuyu's Quirk allows her to extend her tongue and leap a long way, and my Quirk's power allows me to theoretically do anything as long as it's bizarre. How can we beat the odds with our Quirks?" Midoriya mumbled.

"Uhhh, Izukun? You're muttering again" Shinsou groaned, snapping the boy out of his trance with a crazed gleam in his eye.

"I think I know how we can get out of here. We'd better pull this off…it's up to us to be the heroes today. But first, let's establish contact with the others." He tapped his communicator (_thank you Yaomomo, you're a goddamn lifesaver_). "Deku, calling in. Status report?" he queried, waiting for a reply.

"Roger that Deku, this is Genesis. I'm in the Mountain Zone with Chevalier and Earphone Jack" Yaoyorozu's voice crackled over the communicator.

"This is Welder checking in; I'm alone in the Fire Zone" Awase said gruffly.

"This is Wipeout, fuckers! I've got Red Riot and Rule with me in the Ruin Zone" Bakugo growled, before the sound of an explosion crackled through the earpiece.

"Frost King here, I've got Pinky with me in the Mountain Zone" Todoroki said, before a rumbling sound echoed across the USJ. Midoriya looked towards the Landslide Zone only to see that a massive glacier had sprouted, coating the entire thing.

"This is Cambio; I'm in the Downpour Zone with Nevermore and Glass" Iida stated.

"Phantom Thief here; I'm still at the entrance with Thirteen, Infinity Girl, Tentacole and Chargebolt" Monoma's silky voice spoke over the comms.

"Alright, I'm in the Flood Zone with Froppy and Mockingbird. What's the plan?"

Monoma stared down the steps towards the plaza. "Eraserhead is engaging the plaza villains in combat and currently holding his own, but I worry about how long he'll be able to keep going. I'm going to try to get back to campus and warn the teachers; everyone else try to make your way to the edge of the plaza after you finish up in your respective zones. Pick off any minor thugs you can to lighten Eraserhead's load, but do not engage in combat with the higher ups. It looks like the black one is their anti-All Might weapon and the blue-haired one is the leader" he assessed.

"We can do this. Good luck, 1-A!" the blonde said, before turning to face the mist villain.

"You fools. Strategizing in front of your enemy; what are you thinking?" the mist villain asked in a somewhat exasperated, disappointed tone (almost as if he'd spent a long time dealing with disappointingly shortsighted youngsters himself), shooting dark tendrils at the students.

"Knowing that won't help you, you know!" Thirteen responded, opening one of the caps on her fingertips and activating her Quirk, creating a vortex that began sucking the tendrils in.

* * *

In the Downpour Zone, Iida finished checking in with the other teams, before turning to his partners. "Let us defeat our foes quickly so that we may assist Aizawa-sensei!" he said, as a short thug covered in tattoos and a tall thug with scales on his arms rounded the corner. "Have at thee, foul criminals!" he shouted, his engines firing up as he dashed over to the duo. Before the villains could even warn their companions, the engine boy had incapacitated both of them with swift kicks.

Tsubaraba and Tokoyami rounded another corner into a plaza, where they were greeted by a crowd of almost a dozen thugs with various Quirks. "Shit! We're outnumbered and outgunned!" Tsubaraba hissed.

"Perhaps not" the raven-headed teen said, before stepping forward. "Come forth, Dark Shadow! BLACK ANKH!" he shouted, as the shadowy form of Dark Shadow began to envelop his form, slowly raising him off the ground until, instead of a short, raven-headed teen, there stood a shadowy figure as tall and muscular as All Might, with two glowing red eyes cutting through the gloom of the Downpour Zone.

"T-Tokoyami?" the bug-eyed boy asked.

And then the figure spoke in a grating voice that would haunt the nightmares of the criminals for years.

"**Ẅ̹̭͋̊͜e̥̋l̞͋c̠̅o̞̾m̡̠̱̬̋̓̏̉͢e͉͙͘͞ͅ.̛̦̘̬̟̊̓̋̇͜.̛̟͔̍.̧̰̮̓̃̓t͚̤̉̕o̫̼͓͊̉͋ ̤̂o͚̍u̥̞̘̦͑̿͛̓͢͞r̠̆ ͎̻͖̀́͞m̳̓ả͟d̯̖̘͇̥͒͐̌̈̚ ̭̗̞͆̏̅b͙͗ạ̜̍̚n̫͗q͎̻̙̄̿͡u̞̤̽͑e̥͚͇̒͊t̼̱͌͞ ̙̤͇̩̈́̽̌͛ȍ̬f̢̻̼͌͐̿͒͜ ͙̪̖̭̈́̓̐̋ḑ̕ḁ͉̖̬̲̂͊̈́̀r̄ͅk̢̧̜͊̊͌n͎͠ẻ̹s̟̻͓͋̂͘s̪̳̘͑̓̔!̞̜̣̟͑̾͒͠**"

* * *

"Are we ready?" Midoriya asked his teammates. Asui _kero_-ed in agreement, and Shinsou nodded. "Then here we-!" he began, before being interrupted by a giant hand of water slicing the boat in half.

One vaguely skeletal villain laughed as water swirled around his hand; he was clearly the source of the attack. "I've had enough waiting. Let's kill some kids!" he said, earning the agreement of the other baddies.

A redheaded girl with fins for ears and a man who looked vaguely like a discount Aquaman swam to the front of the group, small water bullets slowly flowing out of the water and into the air around them…and then the villains opened fire, shredding the hull and causing the ship to sink faster.

"_This wasn't in the plan at all!_" the greenette thought, before a cry of pain interrupted his train of thought. One of the water shots had pierced the hull…and put a hole in Asui's leg. And then Midoriya saw red.

***cue You Say Run – My Hero Academia OST** *****

"Change of plans…they're going to pay DEARLY" the greenette growled in an unusually angry tone, before turning to Shinsou. "Toshi, use your scarf to lower me to the water" he said, his tone now having shifted to be eerily calm.

"Izu…you're about to do something stupid, aren't you?" the purple-haired boy asked, completely deadpan.

"Probably. Also maybe a little unpleasant. Now do it!" Shinsou rolled his eyes, then activated his capture weapon, wrapping the alloy cloth around one of Midoriya's legs. The greenette stood up and slammed a foot down on the bow, before "_channeling his inner Kacchan._"

"LISTEN UP, PUNKS! I hope you're happy with what you've done…because this is going to hurt!" he shouted, before his voice dropped lower. "For you, of course. Me? I'm going to enjoy this." And then he jumped, the capture weapon stopping his fall just above the water. Activating his Quirk, he swiped a finger through the cool, crystal clear liquid…and then things changed again.

From the point his finger made contact with the Flood Zone's waters, the water rapidly turned opaque, white and very sticky, spreading to the edge of the zone. "Ick! What the hell?!" the skeletal villain yelled, as he floundered in the white goop.

"Your mutations give you all incredible advantages in the water…but sadly for you, the same advantages don't apply to an entire lake of marshmallow crème" the greenette said, some smugness creeping into his tone. "But wait! There's more!" he shouted, as he swiped another finger across the lake. A low rumbling filled the USJ, and the goop began to expand; the marshmallow crème spontaneously heating until it reached its' boiling point.

Shinsou reeled Midoriya in. "Izu, what the hell is going on?!" he yelled, as several villains began to scream in pain from the heat of the sugary solute

"I increased the probability of the marshmallow crème spontaneously boiling. This will cause it to also rapidly expand…propelling the boat towards one of the other zones and hopefully distracting the villains enough to give our classmates – and Aizawa-sensei – the upper hand" he explained.

"You're goddamn insane, Izu" Shinsou deadpanned.

In the plaza, Aizawa had just knocked out another half-dozen or so thugs, when he heard a low rumbling. Both he and the blue-haired villain leader turned towards the Flood Zone, which was now…filled with white soup? As he looked on, the surface of the lake began to bulge upwards, a little at first, but quickly expanding into a massive dome over thirty meters high. The scaffolding on the edge of the lake where water would normally pour in crumbled with the rising tide of white goo.

"_Oh dear god, Problem Child, what the fuck have you done?_" Aizawa wondered, as the surface tension of the dome finally broke, and boiling-hot marshmallow crème flooded towards the central plaza.

"What the hell kind of glitch is this?!" the blue-haired villain yelled, clearly confused out of his mind.

In the Ruins Zone, Bakugo looked up after frying a chameleon villain to see the giant tsunami of boiling sugary goop streaming towards the plaza. "Dear god Deku, what the fuck?" he wondered, before another group of baddies caught his attention. "I don't have time to waste on you scrubs!" he bellowed, motioning for Kirishima and Kodai to get behind him. "Get fucked, noobs! BAZOOKA SHOOT!" A wave of fire left his hands, charring the mooks and demolishing the side of the building.

Up on the entryway, the Space Hero had activated her Quirk and was consuming the misty villain using its' suction ability. "An interesting strategy, Thirteen. Your Black Hole gives you the ability to suck anything up and transform it into dust…I wonder, are you immune to it or not?" he hummed.

Shoji's eyes widened. "Thirteen, behind you!" he shouted, as a warp gate opened behind Thirteen, shredding the back of her costume with her own Quirk.

"Dammit…he got me" the pro muttered, as she passed out from the pain.

"Kaminari, you know what to do!" Monoma shouted to his electric classmate, who nodded and began to run past the warp gate villain.

"I tire of these annoying games. BEGONE!" the villain rumbled, as a tentacle of dark mist reached towards him. At the last second, as the mist was about to overtake him, the electric blonde turned around.

"Gotcha! PLASMA GRENADE!" he shouted, several balls of electricity shooting from his palms and discharging around the villain's body.

"Shoji!" Monoma shouted, as the electric blasts revealed a metal plate hidden within the mist.

"On it!" the multi-armed teen shouted, lifting the copycat blonde and tossing him towards the metal plate.

As he passed the plate, Monoma swung his hand out just above the plate and briefly felt his hand touch something solid, before the buzz of a copied Quirk settled in his skin. "_I have five minutes with this warp Quirk…better make it count!_" he thought, as a golden mist shimmered in the air, before the copycat blonde vanished into it.

"Tomura will be displeased with this development" the mist hummed.

At UA's main campus, all was quiet. Then, an alarm blared and an alert lit up all the teachers' phones as an incoming warp Quirk signature was detected by UA's security measures, centered on the teacher's lounge itself. As several of the pros prepared to fight, a golden mist shimmered in the air…and Neito Monoma leapt out, clearly worse for the wear. "Young Monoma? What-?" All Might began, before the copycat blonde opened his mouth and said four words that froze the blood of the teachers. "Villains! At the USJ!"

"Crap! Everyone, gather as many reinforcements as you can and meet me there!" All Might instructed, as he opened a window. "I'm going on ahead!"

And before anyone could object, the Symbol of Peace had taken a mighty leap and shot through the sky towards the USJ. "I've got roughly four minutes left on my copied warp Quirk. Hurry!" Monoma said, feeling his timer for the misty villain's ability ticking down.

* * *

The wave of marshmallow crème swept into the plaza, carrying the broken yacht with it. Aizawa used this opportunity to tactically retreat to the stairs, picking off a few of the remaining villains from a distance. Shigaraki and the large black villain retreated to the top of the fountain, the tide of cooling sugary soup swirling around the fountain's base. The mist villain reappeared next to him. "Tomura Shigaraki" it stated in a deep voice.

"Status report, Kurogiri!" the skinny villain said.

"Thirteen has been incapacitated. However, the children successfully tricked me and one of them copied my Quirk and escaped to UA" the living fog said.

Shigaraki began to scratch his neck, first softly, but quickly becoming more intense, until his neck was covered in raw, bleeding patches. "Kurogiri…if you weren't our exit, I'd atomize you here and now! It's all over; we can't win with dozens of pros here!" Shigaraki said in an anxious panic, his fingers now staining red with his own blood.

"I guess we'd better leave…" the man-child said, before turning towards the section of hull the students were hiding in. "But first, let's wreck the Symbol of Peace's pride a bit, and kill some kids!" he continued, appearing in front of them, hand outstretched towards Shinsou's face. Midoriya's danger senses screamed louder than ever before in that moment, and in an attempt to prevent Shinsou's possible demise, he snaked a hand out and swiped it across Shigaraki's outstretched hand. The villain's hand made contact with the tired purple-haired boy…and nothing happened for a few moments.

Then, Shinsou's body twitched, and suddenly he jumped up. "What's happening?!" he yelled, as he suddenly dashed forward, clearly not in control of his actions, and grabbed Shigaraki…before beginning to involuntarily polka dance with the hand-covered villain.

Shigaraki's red eyed had gone wide behind the hand on his face. "Again?! What the fuck is with weird glitches happening today?! You're supposed to turn to dust if I touch you!" he shrieked, as Shinsou pulled him along.

"Changing someone's Quirk from touch-based disintegration to touch-based inducement of involuntary polka dancing? Even for me, that's weird" Midoriya murmured, puzzling their situation over.

"Nomu, this fucking sucks! Kill the green-haired brat so that I can kill this insomniac bastard!" Shigaraki yelled. The black villain suddenly stirred, and in the blink of an eye it had appeared by Midoriya, fist drawn back to strike.

Shinsou's eyes widened. "Hey! Chapstick McHandFucker!" he yelled at Shigaraki.

"What the fuck did you just-!?" the blue-haired villain began, before his eyes went blank, Shinsou's Brainwashing kicking in.

"Call off your monster."

"Nomu, stop!" the blue-haired villain yelled, and the beast did.

Suddenly, a black portal yawned below the dancing duo, and they fell to the ground next to Kurogiri, the blue-haired villain now released from his Brainwashing. "_Oh shit_" Shinsou thought.

"Tomura Shigaraki, it appears that you have been released from this one's control, but your Quirk is still not back to normal" the mist hummed.

"Yeah…that's why we have our high-leveled final boss though. Nomu! Kill the green-haired one!"

The black beast gripped Midoriya's entire upper body in one huge fist, and drew its' other fist back. Asui watched in horror, thinking her classmate was about to be obliterated into bloody chunks by that huge fist. Aizawa ran as fast as he could, but realized quickly that he wasn't going to make it. And Midoriya? He pondered giving up then and there, before remembering what all he had to live for.

"_No! I can't die here! Mom…Dad…Kacchan…Ochako…Tenya…Neito…Hitoshi…Momo…for your sakes, I won't give up and die that easily!_" And with that, Midoriya placed both his hands on the Nomu's arm and concentrated as hard as he could through the pain, channeling his Quirk to its' fullest. A green light shone from his hands, blinding everyone nearby for a few moments.

When the light died down, the heroes and villains alike looked back. Midoriya lay on the ground, clearly exhausted from using his Quirk to that degree. And there on top of him, licking his face, was a small black terrier with red markings on its' legs and face in the same places as the Nomu's surgical scars.

Shigaraki looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. "You bastard! What did you do to my Nomu?! I'll kill you!" he dashed forward, completely forgetting that his Quirk was malfunctioning at the time, hand outstretched towards a grinning Midoriya, who was clearly relishing in how he was driving the villains up the wall with his Quirk.

Then the doors of the USJ exploded off their hinges, and everyone stopped.

"**WHO DID THIS?**" boomed a tremendous voice, sending chills of horror up the spines of every villain in the facility, while waves of relief washed over the students. "**WHO HURT MY CHILDREN?**" the voice continued, as a massive footstep echoed through the USJ.

"**WHO DARED TO HURT MY FELLOW TEACHERS?**" The dust cloud cleared, and there stood the Symbol of Peace…and for the first time any of the students could ever recall, he wasn't smiling.

"**YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR THIS, VILLAINS**."

Shigaraki turned around, ignoring Midoriya. "Well fuck. We've lost our highest-leveled player, I'm powerless to do anything other than make people fucking tap-dance, and the final boss just showed up. This campaign has been a disaster. Let's get out of here, Kurogiri" he said, as the mist villain opened a portal, the man-child stepping through it, as the mist faded away.

The Symbol of Peace strode purposefully into the USJ, his footsteps shaking the entire facility, as the villains stared in horror while a wave of hope washed over the students. "**I KNEW SOMETHING WAS AMISS WHEN AIZAWA AND THIRTEEN DIDN'T ANSWER MY CALLS**" All Might started, continuing forward. "**AND MY WORST FEARS WERE CONFIRMED WHEN YOUNG MONOMA WARPED TO UA AND WARNED US OF THIS VILLAIN INVASION**."

"**BUT HAVE NO FEAR, STUDENTS…BECAUSE** **I AM HERE!**"

The minor villains gawked at the Number One hero's arrival, before one took the initiative. "Don't just stand there, morons! Let's get hi-!" the villain began, before All Might blurred out of existence and blitzed the villains, reappearing on the ground floor, wading through the knee-deep marshmallow goop.

"**YOUNG MIDORIYA? WHAT HAPPENED HERE?**" the Symbol of Peace asked.

At that moment, Bakugo burst into the plaza, followed by Kodai and Kirishima. "All right, you scrubs! Call off this attack right now, or…?" he began, before looking around. "Fuck, I missed all the fun stuff!"

Midoriya got back to his feet. "Villains attacked. They had around a hundred and twenty-five minor thugs, one warper, a bioengineered weapon designed to kill you, and some petulant brat in charge" he said, dusting off his costume as the dog barked happily at his feet, before tapping his communicator. "1-A, this is Deku. Status report?" he said.

"Cambio here, it's good to hear your voice, Deku. Nevermore, Glass and I have cleared the Downpour Zone and are exiting now" Iida said.

"Frost King here; Pinky and I have cleared the Mountain Zone" Todoroki confirmed.

"Welder checkin' in; I just welded the last of these fuckers to the floor of the Fire Zone" Awase grunted, as the sound of a door opening came through the comms.

"Genesis checking in; we've got a hostage situation in the Mountain Zone. Chevalier has been captured by an electric-type villain and Earphone Jack and I are stuck" Yaoyorozu said, her nervousness apparent through the communicator.

"All Might, Aoyama is being held hostage in the Mountain Zone, possibly by the same villain jamming communications" Midoriya said to the Symbol of Peace, who nodded and blinked away. A few seconds later, his fist made contact with the side of the electric villain's head, knocking him into the mountainside.

Aoyama dusted himself off. "_Merci beaucoup_, All Might" he said thankfully.

"So, what's with the dog?" Bakugo asked the green-haired troublemaker, looking at the small black terrier whose belly Midoriya was rubbing.

"Oh, him? This was their anti-All Might bioweapon. His name's Kotaro. Want to pet him?" Midoriya asked, as the former Nomu barked happily.

"Uhhhh, sure. Even for you Deku, this is weird" the blonde said, crouching down to pet the dog.

"Kacchan, we've been over this a million times: 'Weird' is practically my middle name."

A few seconds later, a golden-yellow mist shimmered at the top of the stairs, and Monoma appeared, with several pros hot on his heels. "Everyone! I brought…backup?" he asked, seeing a distinct lack of villains and a sea of cooled marshmallow covering a large section of the USJ's interior. "Nevermind, I think we've got it under control."

* * *

In an empty bar clear on the other side of Tokyo, Kurogiri's warp opened again, spitting the irate, embarrassed Shigaraki out. "Dammit…we lost badly. We failed this quest; All Might didn't even fight our Nomu and we still lost!" the man-child started to say, before a voice from a TV with the words "Sound Only" cut him off.

"**_No…he's definitely weaker."_**

Another voice asked a question. "_What about the Nomu? Why is he not with you?"_

"He was…transformed into a small dog by one of the students" Kurogiri responded.

There was a long pause, before the second voice spoke up. "_Pardon my Russian, but what the fuck?_"

"This student was a major hang-up." Tomura snapped, writhing in anger on the floor. "He turned an entire lake into syrup, somehow figured out we were coming and had the other students wear communicators that our electrical guy couldn't jam, and then turned my Nomu into a fucking mutt!"

"**_That almost sounds like a reality warping Quirk. Tell me, did you catch this student's name?"_**

"Izuku Midoriya…"

"**_Midoriya? How interesting_**"

* * *

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**Time for a wholesome day out on the town with friends! The Sports Festival draws near! And how will Mama Midoriya react to her son's new pet? Stay tuned!**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**And in just one chapter, the USJ is done! Some important differences from canon…**  
**\- All Might didn't push himself, because he still possesses all of One For All and didn't have to fight the Nomu, so he's going to be much stronger for much longer.**  
**\- Shigaraki is going to be watching Midoriya even closer than in canon, due to how badly the boy embarrassed him.**  
**\- Given this attack, All Might will likely be trying much harder to find a successor than he was before the USJ.**  
**The title of this chapter comes from the song "Tribute" by Tenacious D.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. 7: You're Guaranteed (To Run This Town)

**CHAPTER 7: YOU'RE GUARANTEED (TO RUN THIS TOWN)**

* * *

_The USJ incident, as it was nicknamed, was a wake-up call of sorts for both hero society and the heroics students of Japan. Although we were mostly uninjured – Thirteen was the only one with more than cuts and bruises – our trials were just beginning…_

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia Opening 2 – Peace Sign**

**_Oh wo-oahhhh,_**

**_Oh wo-oahhhh,_**

**_Oh wo-oahhhh,_**

**_Ohhhhhhhhhh~!_**

_Midoriya stands atop a building, watching All Might leap through the city. The title screen flashes, before the scene changes._

**_Itsuka bokura no ue o suresure ni,_****_  
Toorisugite itta ano hikouki o;  
Fushigi na kurai ni oboeteru  
Imi mo nai noni naze ka._**

**_Fugainakute naita hi no yoru ni,_****_  
Tada tsuyoku naritai to negatteta;  
Sono tame ni hitsuyou na yuuki o  
Sagashi motomete ita._**

**__**_We see a brief montage of Uraraka, Shinsou, Yaoyorozu, Monoma, Bakugo, Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki all training, before the scene shifts again._ **__**

**_Zankoku na, unmei ga, sadamatteru; to shite  
Sore ga itsu no hi ka boku no mae ni arawareru to shite;_**

_The Seven are seen with Inko and All Might; at the center of the group is a small girl with white hair. An image of a man in a plague mask briefly flashes as the scene changes._

**_Tada isshu,n kono isshun, iki ga dekiru nara;  
Dou demo ii to omoeta sono kokoro o!_**

_Panning shots show all of 1-A and 1-B._

**_Mou ichido  
Tooku e ike tooku e ike to;_**

_Todoroki creates a glacier as the light around Midoriya becomes prismatic. Iida runs, Monoma grins, Tokoyami unleashes Dark Shadow and Shiozaki prays._

**_Boku no naka de dareka ga utau,  
Doushiyou mo nai hodo netsuretsu ni!_**

_Tokage disassembles herself, Hatsume flashes a crazy smile, Shinsou turns threateningly, and Kendo swings her giant hands. Bakugo lets off several blasts, Honenuki softens the ground, and Uraraka lunges._

**_Itsudatte me o harashita kimi ga nido to,  
Kanashimanai you ni waraeru;  
Sonna hero ni naru tame no uta!_**

_All Might lands in the city, before turning around as the camera passes by some of the students from the different classes, in front of UA._

**_Saraba kakagero PEACE SIGN,  
Korogatte iku story o-!_**

_The cast poses in front of the stadium for the Sports Festival, as the title card flashes again._

* * *

Night falls on Musutafu, as a group of UA staff meets with a police official in a secret meeting regarding the League of Villains and the USJ Incident. "Our investigators are trying to learn everything we can about the League…but we're not having any luck finding anything about Kurogiri or Tomura Shigaraki" the police representative, Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi stated to the heroes.

"So…we've got no leads then?" Vlad King said, arms folded.

"I'm 'fraid not" the cowboy-themed hero Snipe said.

All Might looked troubled, something picked up on by the principal. "Is something wrong, All Might?" the rodent asked.

The blonde sighed. "The attack on the USJ was a tactically foolish move no sane adult would attempt. According to the students and Aizawa, Shigaraki kept monologuing about how his Nomu was a pet of sorts perfect for killing me…and when Midoriya messed that plan up, he all but threw a tantrum. He had the personality of a spoiled brat."

Aizawa himself added his twenty yen to the conversation. "So… a psychopathic man-child, if we're being frank…but one with incredible power and charisma. Never a good sign."

Tsukauchi cleared his throat, then continued. "We'll expand our investigation of the League and continue searching for those who planned the attack."

Nezu looked to his papers, and chuckled. "A man-child, eh? In some ways, he's like our students with the incredible potential he has…and like them, he too may have someone nurturing his malice and evil."

All Might stared in worry. "_I don't even want to consider what that might mean…_"

* * *

**[Chatroom: ****_The Magnificent Seven_****]**

**_Defying Uravity:_**** Hey guys! We've got tomorrow off thanks to the villain attack earlier today, and since I think we all need to de-stress, why don't we hang out tomorrow?**

**_Wierdboi_****: Sounds good to me, Ochako!**

**_Lord Explosion Murder_****: Count me the FUCK in.**

**_Creation Queen_****: I'll gladly go.**

**_Navy Seal Copypasta_****: Same.**

**_Need for Speed_****: I would be honored to join you, my friends!**

**_Defying Uravity_****: That's six of us. Shinsou, are you coming?**

**_Mindfuck_****: Fuck it, I'm in.**

**_Defying Uravity_****: Sweet! So, where should we go?**

**_Defying Uravity_****: I was thinking we could meet up around 10:00 at Coruscant Park and hang out there for a while, then go have lunch somewhere in the Tatooin District Mall! After that, maybe ride some of the amusement rides in Thorfinn Outfitters, and then call it a day at Dagobah Beach Park! Sound good?**

**_Lord Explosion Murder_****: Sounds like a goddamn blast. See you then.**

**_Wierdboi_****: ^**

**_Mindfuck_****: ^**

**_Creation Queen_****: ^**

**_Navy Seal Copypasta_****: ^**

**_Need for Speed_****: ^**

**_Defying Uravity_****: See you guys tomorrow 3**

* * *

The next morning, Midoriya woke up at around 8:30, having slept in due to how tired the previous day's events had made him. He'd almost entered Quirk Exhaustion (which was potentially fatal if he kept going for too long) after transmuting the lake into marshmallow crème, and then modifying Shigaraki's Quirk and the Nomu's transformation really took it out of him. He threw on his favorite T-shirt (the one that said "t-shirt" on it), and a pair of grey cargo pants, before heading out to eat breakfast.

Speaking of the Nomu, Kotaro was happily munching on some dog food Midoriya had bought after they were released from the authorities' questioning. His mother had been delighted by how adorable the Boston Terrier was, and the dog appeared to like her too; she had also commented something about a brother with the same name. Of course, it came as something of a surprise when he seemed to disappear and then reappear on the other side of the room.

That was when the two greenettes found out that the dog still had all four of the Nomu's Quirks: Hyper Regeneration, Shock Absorption, Speed and Super Strength. Midoriya had slept well knowing that his mom would be safe from almost anything given that she had an overprotective superdog that had been designed to kill All Might guarding her.

The boy scarfed down a bowl of rice pudding and a cup of coffee, then said goodbye to his mom and left the apartment, heading down the street to Bakugo's. Sure enough, the explosive blonde was standing outside his house, wearing a grey slacks and a black tank top under a plaid shirt. A ten-minute walk later, the Dynamic Duo had arrived at Coruscant Park, waiting for the rest of the group. They'd brainstormed nicknames over lunch the day before the USJ, and after much tribulation settled on "The Magnificent Seven", although alternatives such as "The Seven Samurai" and "The Seven Deadly Sins" were also offered up.

Three of the others were waiting for them already. Iida was wearing a dark blue polo shirt and long khaki pants; Yaoyorozu was in a stunning violet sundress with a wide-brimmed hat, and Shinsou (who looked like as much of a zombie as ever) was wearing grey cargo pants and a purple shirt with cat paw prints on it. A few minutes later Monoma and Uraraka arrived; the phantom thief was wearing a white button-up with khaki shorts, and Uraraka was wearing light yellow shorts, an ice-pink shirt and flip-flops.

"Well, the gang's all here…let's have some fun!" Midoriya said, pumping his fist in the air.

For the next hour, the seven teenagers hung out in Coruscant Park, enjoying the warm spring air, cool breeze and not getting attacked by villains. After that, they wandered to the Tatooin District Mall, where they ate lunch at the first place that looked good – which was, ironically enough, a franchise of fast food chain MgRonald's. Then they enjoyed an outdoor concert by the "_S. Ikari and Friends Quartet_". And then, a chance encounter changed everything for these hero trainees.

* * *

Midoriya and Uraraka had been sent by the other five students to get ice cream from an ice cream stand in the mall's food cart. The two walked alongside each other, careful not to make eye contact in order to avoid either of their blushes from growing. "_She's so close…_" Midoriya thought.

"_He's…so close…_" Uraraka thought. The two briefly made eye contact only to start blushing furiously…and then, as they rounded a corner, Midoriya was knocked over by a small figure running into his legs.

"W-Wha-?" he wondered aloud, before looking up. There, lying across his legs, was a small white-haired girl with red eyes and a horn on the right side of her forehead, clad in bandages and a filthy white dress.

"H-Hey there" he managed, waving shyly to the small child, who sat up.

"H-Hi" the child whispered. Then, with a start, she sat up and looked around, before grabbing Uraraka's leg and refusing to let go.

From the other side of the plaza that was just around the corner, a positively gargantuan man was looking around. He wore cargo pants, orange boots, a black tank top that showed off his powerful upper body, thick metal gloves and a black plague doctor's mask that covered his entire head. "Eri?" he boomed, and the girl clung to Uraraka even tighter, whimpering.

"I have a bad feeling about that man and this girl…" Midoriya muttered, before looking at Uraraka. The two nodded, before the round-faced brunette scooped up the child and carried her into a nearby alleyway, Midoriya following her. As he entered the alley, he swept his fingers against the wall, and the cement closed the alleyway's entrance off.

A few moments later, the heavy footsteps of the man came around the corner. "That's funny…I could swear she came this way" he rumbled, before continuing away from them. As he walked off, Midoriya heard him say something else. "The boss is gonna kill me if I lost the brat…"

Midoriya re-opened the alleyway with his Quirk and looked down the courtyard in time to see the massive man – "_a kidnapper_" he though to himself – round another corner and leave his field of view. "Okay, we're clear" he said, gesturing to Uraraka. The two left the alleyway with the girl – Eri, if what the kidnapper was saying was correct – and made their way cautiously back to the park and their friends.

Yaoyorozu and Monoma were engaged in an animated discussion about…something, Shinsou and Bakugo were having a staring contest, and Iida was flailing his arms end lecturing them on lord-knows-what, when Uraraka and Midoriya walked on the scene.

"Well? Where's my red hot chili pepper ice cream?" Bakugo asked, before noticing the white-haired child clad in dirty rags trembling in Uraraka's arms.

"What the heck?" Monoma asked, clearly confused.

"This girl ran into us on our way to the ice cream stand. She appeared to be running from someone, most likely a kidnapper" the greenette said, and all of the teenagers immediately snapped to attention.

"Well, hell. Let's get somewhere safer, then decide what we're doing next – if she's gone missing, there may be other kidnappers around here looking for her" Bakugo said. "Deku, can you disguise her with your Quirk?"

The greenette nodded, before swiping a finger across the dirty dress Eri wore, which turned into a longsleeved red and white dress, free of dirt stains. She was still shoeless and covered in bandages, but she now looked marginally better. Then, with another swipe of his finger, the girl's white hair slowly turned an inky black.

"Okay, we shouldn't attract suspicion as long as we act casual" the greenette said, the others nodding in agreement.

"Here, this is for you" Yaoyorozu said to the girl, as she created a nesting doll out of her hand and held it out. The terrified child looked at the doll with wonder in her eyes before taking it and hugging it to her chest.

"Alright, let's go. Momo can watch the left and Neito can watch our right. Deku, Tenya, watch behind us" Bakugo said, the others nodding as they started forward. "I'll go a little bit ahead and let you know if I see anyone in a plague mask, and I'll contact a hero to help us."

* * *

Several hours later, the Seven (and Eri) had been picked up by their homeroom teacher of all people, dealt with the police, and then ended up in Recovery Girl's office at UA. The bandages had come off and all seven of the students had been absolutely beside themselves when they discovered rows of needle marks on her arms and legs. Speaking of the clinic, Eri refused to let go of Uraraka at any and all costs, and it was only with very careful coaxing that she allowed Recovery Girl to draw one vial of blood to run tests on.

Finally, they were discharged, only to be met with by their teacher again. "Alright, it looks like at the moment she'll only respond positively to one of you seven troublemakers, so she'll have to spend the night at one of your houses. Who's it going to be?" the tired pro asked.

Yaoyorozu raised her hand. "Given how attached to them she is, even moreso than to the rest of us, I suggest she spends the night with Ochako or Izuku" the heiress said, smiling at the two students in question.

"Well, squirt? Do you want to go with Deku or Chako?" Bakugo asked, affectionately pinching Eri's cheek.

The child thought for a few moments, clearly a little overwhelmed by the amount of love she was being shown by people she didn't even know before that day, before innocently asking a question and melting everyone's hearts with cuteness in the process. "Why not both?"

"Awwwwwwwwwwww, so cute!~" both Yaoyorozu and Monoma almost squealed.

Shinsou and Bakugo shot knowing glances at each other, before the mother of all shit-eating grins appeared on Bakugo's countenance. "They grow up so fast" Shinsou mock-sniffled, while the explosive blonde slung an arm over Midoriya's shoulder.

"Man, Deku, least you could have done was married her first!" he grinned.

At this point, both Midoriya and Uraraka developed positively INCANDESCENT blushes. "Kacchan, how could you?! You know it's not like that!" the greenette sputtered.

"N-N-No way! W-W-We're just friends, that's all!" Uraraka insisted, only not clasping her hands to her face to avoid dropping Eri. Monoma started snapping photos with his phone, and when Iida tried to insist that it was unbecoming of UA students to tease their peers like that, Yaoyorozu joined in. Iida relented soon afterwards and snapped a picture for himself clandestinely.

"Should I go to your apartment, Ochako?" Midoriya asked, not having learned his lesson about double entendrés around Bakugo, Shinsou and Monoma.

"N-No, it's not nice enough, and I live alone…" Uraraka said, before realizing she'd said too much.

"You live alone? Nevermind, you're coming over to my apartment" Midoriya said.

"Are you sure?" Uraraka asked maybe a little too quickly.

"Mom would love to have you over!" Midoriya said, not noticing his own eagerness.

"…I guess maybe I will come over then!" Uraraka said, her face turning red again.

"S-Sweet" Midoriya responded, also blushing.

The other five quickly made it known that they too were also going to come help, and Yaoyorozu called in one of her family's limos (Uraraka almost passed out from that level of wealth on display), and they stopped by Uraraka's sparse apartment, grabbing her futon…and when she wasn't looking, Monoma and Bakugo stuffed everything else into a couple of suitcases and placed them in the back of the limo. Another few minutes later and they had arrived at the Midoriyas' rather spacious apartment, whereupon Bakugo knocked on the door.

Inko answered. "Oh, hello Katsuki. Nice to see you!" the slim green-haired woman said, opening the door.

"Hey, Auntie Inko" the blonde said, carrying the futon inside.

"Um, should I ask-?" the woman began, before seeing the white-haired child cradled in Uraraka's arms. "Oh, what's this?" she asked happily, rushing over to the round-faced brunette. "Ochako! Good to see you!" Inko said, before seeing the others. "And you brought Momo, Hitoshi, Neito and Tenya? I'm so proud of you, making new friends like this, Izuku!" The woman hugged her son, before looking at Eri again.

"Mom, this is Eri. Ochako and I rescued her earlier from possible kidnappers. As soon as the DNA tests come back, we'll return her to her parents…but for now, she refuses to leave Ochako or I, so we figured we'd have a sleepover here tonight with her."

At this, Bakugo coughed. "Auntie Inko," he began as Shinsou and Monoma carried several suitcases in.

"Yes, Katsuki?"

"Ochako is from Mie, and she lives alone in a really shitty apartment. You guys have two unused rooms in this apartment, and since Eri doesn't want to be away from her or Deku, how about Ochako move in with you guys?" the blonde suggested.

"Eh? No, I wouldn't want to impose-!" Uraraka began, before Inko cut her off. "Alright!"

"_Wait that easily?_" everyone thought.

"Now, who wants _katsudon_?"

Dinner was as delicious as any Inko Midoriya _katsudon_ ever was, and afterwards the teens hung out in the apartment's living room with Eri. "Hey, I was wondering something, Izu" Shinsou said, as Monoma and Bakugo unpacked all of Uraraka's belongings into a spare room.

"What is it?" the greenette asked, as he handed a teddy bear to Eri.

"What's with this apartment? Most single-parent families don't have living spaces this big" he said, gesturing to the two unused spare bedrooms, one of which was being converted by Iida and Inko into a room for Eri. At this point, Bakugo and Monoma showed up, having finished with Uraraka's new room (judging by the girl's squeal of delight, they did a good job.

"Well, my dad always said 'Nothing but the best for my family'."

"Your dad?" Monoma asked.

"Oh boy, Uncle Hisashi is something else" Bakugo said. "Soft-spoken, kind and a halfway decent cook to boot. He's got curly hair like Deku's, except it's as white as snow. He's about as tall as All Might, not even kidding, and I never saw him wearing something that wasn't a well-tailored suit" the blonde bomber continued.

"That still doesn't explain the apartment" Monoma said.

"Hadn't gotten that far yet. Uncle Hisashi is also the majority owner of several major corporations, including United Media, which publishes Hero Weekly and runs the Channel 5 News, and Green Valley Quirk Labs, which is the biggest Quirk diagnosis company in Japan; he also has major holdings in lifestyle company Detnerat Corporation, tech companies Smart Brain and Feel Good Inc, and publishing company Shueisha" Bakugo said.

The room was silent for a moment, before Uraraka spoke up. "Wait a minute, Deku…you don't show it, but you really are loaded, aren't you?"

Midoriya looked around awkwardly. "I-I guess."

Bakugo laughed. "I mean…how else do you think he bought all that All Might merch?"

"All Might merch?" Shinsou asked.

"Ohhhhh boy, I may be an All Might fan, but Deku is the fanboy to end all fanboys. C'mon" Bakugo said, gesturing for the others to follow him.

"No! Kacchan! Don't-!" Midoriya began, but it was too late. Bakugo opened the door to Midoriya's room, and the others were almost blinded by the sheer quantity of All Might merchandise in the room. Posters, action figures, bedsheets, biographies, a lunchbox and so much more.

"What a fanboy" Monoma snickered.

"I don't know, it's kind of cute to me" Uraraka said before she realized what she'd said.

Once again, silence reigned for a moment before both she and Midoriya turned positively scarlet and started babbling incoherently, while Bakugo dropped to the floor laughing. "Get a room already, you dorks" Shinsou snarked, which only made the two teens blush harder and Bakugo laugh louder.

An hour or so later and Bakugo, Iida, Monoma, Shinsou and Yaoyorozu had left to go home, leaving Uraraka, Eri and the Midoriyas to settle in for the night. The small child had been overjoyed with her new room, and had gladly settled into bed for possibly the first good night's sleep in her life. As Midoriya and Uraraka left the room, the white-haired child murmured something that utterly MELTED the hearts of both teens.

"Goodnight Mama…Goodnight Papa…"

* * *

The next day, in school, Class 1-A had reconvened and were talking amongst themselves, mostly about the USJ Incident and the coverage of it. This all stopped, however, when Uraraka, Midoriya and Bakugo walked in, the greenette carrying a small white-haired child in his arms.

"G-Good morning, everyone" Midoriya waved. The students all blinked, before the kid yawned and opened her large, innocent red eyes.

"She's…" Ashido began.

"…so…" Jiro continued.

"CUTE!" Yaoyorozu squealed.

"Everyone, this is Eri. We rescued her from a kidnapper yesterday and are trying to find her parents…but she's gotten very attached to us in the process" Monoma said, gesturing to the group at the door.

"Uncle Neito!" the child said, and the copycat blonde blushed as the class started chattering again.

"Good morning, class" Aizawa said, walking through the door, before doing a double-take. "Oh, good morning, Eri."

"Good morning, 'Zawa!" the girl said, and the class was once again overwhelmed by how adorable the kid was. Bakugo, Midoriya and Uraraka took their seats, with the explosive blonde holding the child in his lap.

"Anyway, students, your fight is not over yet" the tired man said, looks of shock spreading over the students' faces.

"Not over yet?" Bakugo wondered.

"What does he mean?" Midoriya mumbled.

"More bad guys?!" Kaminari started to panic.

Aizawa just stared at the class, then let a small smirk cross his face.

"The UA Sports Festival is just two weeks away."

* * *

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**The Sports Festival approaches! How will 1-A prepare? What motivates Uraraka? And what is Eri's story? Stay tuned for more!**

* * *

**FROM THE FILES OF IZUKU MIDORIYA**

**Quirk Name: Brainwashing**

**User(s): Hitoshi Shinsou**

**About: Brainwashing is a psychological Quirk that, upon response to the user, overrides the target's alpha-wave brainwaves and compels them to carry out any command of the user.**

**Weaknesses: Currently only works with verbal responses. Shinsou is physically kind of weak.**

**Potential Improvements: Could potentially be used with nonverbal responses if trained enough.**

**Comments: Ridiculously strong in the hands of an experienced user. Shinsou could easily become one of the most formidable heroes of his generation if he fully masters his power.**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope you all have an amazing holiday season; please enjoy Eri's introduction in this chapter of wholesomeness.**

**Also, new season/story arc means new opening! This fic is picking up steam pretty good – I'm hoping that eventually it'll grow to the point where it makes the Fanfic Recommendations of MHA's TVTropes page…but for now, I'm good with it being what it is.**

**This chapter's title comes from the song "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" by Panic! At the Disco.**

**As ever, thanks for reading!**


	8. 8: Wake Me Up (Wake Me Up Inside)

**CHAPTER 8: WAKE ME UP (WAKE ME UP INSIDE)**

* * *

"Anyway, students, your fight is not over yet" Aizawa stared at his class, then let a small smirk cross his face. "The UA Sports Festival is just two weeks away."

* * *

**Cue My Hero Academia Opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

"YES! LET'S KICK SOME ASS!" Kirishima roared in excitement, as the other students jumped in surprise at both his outburst and their teacher's menacing tone about something so…normal?

"LANGUAGE!" Yaoyorozu snapped.

"Woah, wait a minute" Kaminari said. "Is it really such a good idea to do this so soon after the USJ Incident?"

Jiro nodded in agreement. "Couldn't they attack us when we're all in one place then?"

Aizawa coughed, then started again. "The administration wants to hold it despite all that, to send a message that everything's fine to the public. Also, it's the UA Sports Festival: the most watched sporting event in the world for the past 75 years running, having long since supplanted the Olympic Games. You only have three chances in a lifetime to participate, so make it count" the pro said, an edge of seriousness creeping back into his voice.

"Now, who's ready for Shakespeare?" Present Mic asked, entering the room as the students groaned.

Three hours and a veritable mountain of cute remarks about Eri from Present Mic, Cementoss and Midnight later, the students were all done with their morning classes. Suddenly, the room became aware of an…intense presence behind them.

Turning to the back left corner of the room, Uraraka stared intensely at her peers. "Let's do our best, Deku, Tenya, Neito" she said, staring at the trio in question.

"Uhhhhh…right" the copycat blonde said.

"Everyone, I'm gonna do my best!" she shouted at Tokoyami, Awase and Kirishima.

"R-Right…" the headbanded boy said.

"I SAID I'M GONNA DO MY BEST!" she shouted at Bakugo, Kodai and Kaminari.

"Right, Ochako" Bakugo said, smirking.

"_Oh yeah, I wonder…why does Uraraka want to be a hero?_"

"Papa, what's with Mama's face?" Eri asked Midoriya innocently, and the room went silent again. A noise that sounded vaguely like a boiling, whistling teakettle emanated from somewhere in the room, and then all the girls (and half the boys) squealed at how adorable it was.

"PAPA? MAMA? AWWWW, EVEN ERI GETS IT!" Ashido shouted in delight, as the room was bathed in vaguely pinkish light from Midoriya and Uraraka's faces.

"IT-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" the two teenagers insisted. Eri watched curiously from Yaoyorozu's arms, before giggling. Bakiugo, meanwhile, was rolling on the floor laughing, while Shinsou briefly snickered and Monoma wore a massive shirt-eating grin on his face.

* * *

In the Lunch Rush Cafeteria, the so-called Magnificent Seven sat down at their usual table, bringing Eri with them to meet Shoji. "Hello Eri. Nice to meet you, I'm Mezo Shoji" Shoji said, sitting down at the end of the table with his lunch tray, beginning to eat with a mouth on one of his tentacles while talking through another.

"Wow! So cool!" the white-haired child said, watching a mouth morph into an ear, then morph again into a nose on one tentacle.

"After all these years, it's a little hard to believe. I'm actually going to be in the Sports Festival!" Uraraka cheered, as several of the others nodded in agreement.

"Indeed! This is the perfect opportunity for me to represent my family. I won't let you down, Tensei!" Iida all but shouted.

Midoriya laughed, before his memory jogged a bit. "Oh right, Ochako, I wanted to ask you something" he said.

The table reacted in several different ways; Monoma, Bakugo and Shinsou developed almost teasing grins, Shoji, Eri, Yaoyorozu and Iida quirked their eyebrows, and Uraraka blushed. "A-Ask away, Deku" she stammered.

"Why do you want to be a hero?"

The teasing trio blinked in confusion as Uraraka's blush faded as quickly as it arrived. "O-Oh, I thought you were – nevermind! It may not be very noble…but I'm in it for the money" the girl said awkwardly.

"Wait, really? You never struck me as that type" Shinsou said in surprise.

"But…why?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Well…my family owns a construction company, and I originally wanted to get licensed so that I could help my folks out with that…but now, I want to become a successful hero, and give my parents an easy life. Not very heroic compared to all of your goals, I guess" Uraraka admitted sheepishly.

"Nonsense!" Iida said, starting to applaud. "I'm merely following my family's tradition."

Midoriya nodded. "I'm just doing it because I've always wanted nothing more than to save lives."

"My family talked me into it…" Yaoyorozu said almost…sadly.

"I've been trying to prove something to myself and others" Shinsou said, Monoma silently agreeing.

"I just want to be the best" Bakugo grinned.

"Your goals are no less noble than the rest of us. If anything, you might be more heroic than half the people here; wanting to provide for others while saving people is one of the most heroic goals of all" Yaoyorozu said.

Uraraka started to tear up. "Thanks guys" she said.

Midoriya looked at his food and started to dig in…only to be interrupted by the world's most distinctive laugh. "**A HA HA HA HA!**" All Might laughed, catching the others at the table off guard. "**I'VE FOUND YOU, YOUNG MIDORIYA, YOUNG BAKUGO!**" the blonde giant bellowed, before pulling a comically tiny lunchbox out of his suit and saying "**LUNCH?**"

"Uhhhhhhh…alright. C'mon Deku" Bakugo said, picking his food up and following the pro, Midoriya following him.

"You stay with Mama, all right? I'll be back soon" Midoriya said to Eri, ruffling her hair.

"I will, Papa!" the girl chirped back.

The others at the table looked at each other in confusion for a few moments, before Shoji simply said "Well, that happened."

Unbeknownst to them, a certain bichromatic student at a nearby table overheard the whole thing. "_Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo are connected to All Might, eh?_" thought Shoto Todoroki.

"So, you really only have a little over two and a half hours left every day?" Midoriya asked the Symbol of Peace, as All Might brewed a cup of tea. The Duo sat with the Symbol of Peace in the teacher's lounge to discuss some important matter. "I-I'm sorry-!" the greenette began, before his teacher started laughing…and spitting blood, while Bakugo rolled his eyes.

"There's no need to apologize; jeez, you really are like me! Anyway, have some tea…we need to talk about the Sports Festival, and about finding a successor."

The temperature in the air seemed to drop at those words. "One For All is slowly leaving me even without passing it on; the USJ would have been even worse for me if you hadn't dealt with their 'Nomu' before I arrived" the blonde giant said, sipping his tea.

"Unfortunately, my days as the Symbol of Peace are probably numbered. The world needs to see that the next generation of heroes are strong and will truly protect them, which is why I want you two – and the rest of 1-A and 1-B, for that matter – to push yourselves to put on a spectacular show at the Sports Festival, and say that you are here!"

"So, you need to know who we've seen who might make for a good successor for you?" Bakugo asked.

"Yes. I was already given another candidate by my former sidekick, Sir Nighteye. He's a third-year here by the name of Mirio Togata…but when asked, he, like you two, turned it down, citing much the same reasons as Young Midoriya. I suspect he'd get along fabulously with you" Yagi responded. "So, a first-year it is. Who have you found so far?"

Midoriya cleared his throat. "Our class is incredible. They've all got amazing Quirks and the hearts of true heroes beating in their chests, but we've got a few to highlight. I would have seriously considered Shinsou, but whoever takes this power on need to become a Symbol right? He wants to be an underground hero, so that wouldn't be his style."

Bakugo nodded, then continued. "Monoma and Iida have their own flaws; Monoma specifically would probably decline because his whole thing is proving to himself that it's okay to have a copy Quirk."

Midoriya decided to conclude his statement. "I doubt Shoji would be interested, and Yaoyorozu sadly isn't confident enough in herself to accept…so our main option is Uraraka."

"I see…I'll consider Young Uraraka's candidacy as soon as the Sports Festival wraps up."

* * *

"W-What's with all these people?" Uraraka asked, as 1-A attempted to depart for the day, only to find themselves blocked in by a crowd of other students.

"Idiots. They're scouting out the competition" Bakugo said, as he walked to the door. "Oi, extras. Outta the way, I'm trying to go home!" he said to the crowd, eliciting exasperated reactions from his own class.

"HEY!" roared a boy with grey hair and weird eyelashes. "MY NAME IS TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU! YOU'RE THE BADASSES WHO SURVIVED A REAL VILLAIN ATTACK, AND I'M CHALLENGING ALL OF YOU! I THOUGHT MAYBE YOU'D BE OKAY, BUT YOU'RE REALLY RUDE! YOU'D BETTER BRING YOUR BEST-!"

The boy was cut off by a bunch of vines wrapping around him and dragging him back to the side of a serene-looking girl, the vines being her hair. "I must ask that you forgive Tetsutetsu of his rudeness; may the Lord absolve him of his sins. Amen" she said, to 1-A's confusion.

"Oh, hey Shiozaki!" Bakugo said, waving at the vine-haired girl.

"Bakugo. It is nice to see you again" the girl said serenely.

At this, everyone stopped for a few moments. "Wait, did you actually bother to remember someone's name on your own?" Midoriya asked, before wiping his eyes. "Our little Kacchan is growing up…" Monoma and Shinsou giggled.

"Whatever. I met her back during the Entrance Exam; she and Kirishima impressed me enough for their names to be worth remembering" the blonde said, rolling his eyes, before glaring at Tetsutetsu. "And you! Watch your language around the kid!" he growled, pointing at Eri.

At this, there was a squealing noise and a floating girl's uniform came bounding around the corner, a sharp-toothed greenette girl and a short brunette with bangs covering her eyes following her. The three rushed over to Eri and started chattering. "Ohmygodshe'ssoCUTE!" the school uniform shrieked.

"I know, right?" Ashido said, bounding over. "Mina Ashido, nice to meet you!"

The uniform stood up. "Toru Hagakure, Class 1-B! This is Setsuna Tokage" one sleeve gestured at the sharp-toothed girl, who waved. "'Sup?"

"And this is Kinoko Komori!" another sleeve waved at the brunette, who meekly replied. "Nice to meet you…"

Another few interesting individuals squeezed through the door. One was a blonde boy with a large tail; he was closely followed by a tall and muscular boy with thick lips and a dark-skinned boy with white hair, who engaged in some kind of occultic staring contest with Tokoyami, a pale-skinned, white haired girl seemingly officiating the whole thing.

"Uhhhh, I don't mean to interrupt…but what the heck?" Shinsou asked, walking over.

"It seems I've found two more followers of the darkness" Tokoyami muttered.

"Oh great, looks like all four of the Hero Course's resident goths have arrived. Shihai Kuroiro, at your service" the dark-skinned boy said, before gesturing to the girl. "And this talkative lady is Reiko Yanagi." The girl nodded silently.

"_God, she speaks even less than Kodai_" Shinsou thought, before engaging in conversation with them.

"Alright, what's going on here?" a voice came from the hallway.

Monoma's eyes widened. "No…it can't be…" he said, an indescribable emotion crossing his face.

A teal-eyed girl with red hair in a ponytail rounded the corner, a large boy covered in thick fur and an ash-haired boy with no lips flanking her. "Hopefully you're not causing too much trouble-!" she began, before she spotted 1-A's copycat blonde, her own eyes widening much the same. After a few moments of silence, the girl spoke again. "…Neito? Is that you?"

"I-Itsuka…" the blonde responded.

Then the two dashed forward and gripped each other in a tight hug, much to everyone's confusion. "Oh my god, how long has it been?" the redhead asked, eyes watering.

"Four years since I left Chiba to go back to Holland…" Monoma trailed off. "I really missed you."

The two broke their hug and stepped back slightly, when Monoma felt a presence behind him. "Now what have we here, _Neito_?" Bakugo asked.

"Well, you going to introduce us to your lady friend?" Shinsou snarked. Almost on cue, the two lit up with luminescent blushes.

"Ummmm…this is Itsuka Kendo. She was friends with me when I lived in Chiba Prefecture after moving to Japan for the first time" the copycat blonde said, gesturing to the redhead.

"Aw, that's so romantic!" Hagakure and Ashido said in unison, before looking at each other.

"Oh, I think I'm going to like you" the pink-skinned girl said to the invisible one.

"Anyway, what Tetsutetsu was trying to say, albeit not very effectively, is that Class 1-B wants to formally challenge 1-A to a friendly competition at the Sports Festival" Kendo said, as the metal boy wrapped in Shiozaki's vines struggled against his restraints. "Let's leave it all out there on the field. Show us what you've got!"

With that, the Class President of 1-B exited 1-A's classroom, before ducking back in for a moment. "Oh, and Neito? It was good seeing you again" she said, hugging the blonde boy again.

"Y-Yeah…it was good seeing you again too" the copycat blonde responded.

"Alright, let's get out of here, 1-B" Kendo said, gesturing for everyone to follow her.

"It seems on this day I am victorious" Tokoyami said to Kuroiro as he and Yanagi exited.

"What a mad banquet of darkness…" the black-skinned boy responded with a shit-eating grin, much to Tokoyami's chagrin.

"That's my line…" the raven-headed boy trailed off.

"See you later, Eri!" Hagakure said, squeezing the white-haired girl in a hug.

"Later kiddo!" Tokage chirped, Komori waving as they left.

Monoma stood by the door for a few moments, still processing reconnecting with his childhood friend, when Shinsou walked up. "Hey Neito…what's that in your pocket?"

"Hm?" the blonde asked, looking down and rummaging in his pocket…to find a piece of paper with a series of numbers and the words "Call me, dammit!" written on it.

Monoma broke out in a ten million watt blush, while Shinsou and Bakugo started cheering loudly. "A-Anyway, let's go! We still need to drop by Recovery Girl's office, remember?" the copycat blonde said, eager to change the topic to literally anything else.

"Oh, right, we need to find out what the old lady has to say about the squirt" Bakugo said, ruffling Eri's hair.

* * *

"It's very strange…" the aged hero said, looking at a tablet. "We did DNA testing on her, but there were no returned positive matches, and no missing person cases in all of Japan matched either."

At this, several members of the Seven blinked. "Wait, if DNA testing isn't returning anything, then can we even find her parents?" Monoma asked.

Recovery Girl shook her head. "Not as such. Chances are good that there's nothing on record for them either…which means that the circumstances of Eri's birth may be of questionable legality."

Midoriya, Bakugo and Iida did a double-take. "So…you're suggesting her family may have had criminal connections?" the glasses-wearing boy asked.

"It's not impossible. The Yakuza are weak nowadays, but not extinguished, so she could be of criminal origin" Recovery Girl responded. "This also means there's no legal way for her to be returned to her family, so she'd have to go into foster care, which isn't good for someone with the veritable mishmash of social disorders she has…"

At this, Uraraka slammed a hand down on the table. "No! She'd be in danger of getting kidnapped again, and as you said, it wouldn't be good for her either."

Recovery Girl smiled. "That's the spirit, kiddo. What do you suggest?"

Midoriya cut in. "Let me call up mom. I think she might be on board with adopting her."

One phone call later and Inko Midoriya had agreed to adopt Eri, the woman saying that she'd already texted Hisashi and he was on board with the idea; his lawyers already working on the paperwork. "Mama? Papa? Am I going home with you tonight?" Eri asked.

One solitary tear streaked down Midoriya's cheek. "Yeah, Eri…we're going home. You're part of the family now."

* * *

For two weeks, the hero trainees of 1-A and 1-B trained for the Sports Festival, pushing their bodies and mind to the limits in the name of friendly competition…and in seemingly no time at all, the Sports Festival had arrived. Midoriya walked through the gates of the school towards the UA Sports Stadium with his mother Inko, Eri walking between them eating a candy apple.

"So mom, where will you two be sitting?" the green-haired boy asked.

Inko smiled brightly. "Oh, Eri and I are actually sitting up in the faculty box!"

"What?" the boy asked, clearly stunned.

"Hey, your mother has a few friends here, you know. Thanks to us adopting this little bundle of joy" she said, ruffling Eri's hair. "I've gotten to know Eraserhead, Present Mic and Midnight pretty well…but we're sitting there at the invitation of another teacher – oh, here he comes now!"

Midoriya turned to look where his mother was gesturing – and immediately did the mother of all double-takes. There, running towards them as best he could, was none other than All Might in his skinny form. "Izuku, I'd like you to meet my friend, Toshinori Yagi! Oh, but you probably already know him" the woman said in a very happy voice.

"Good morning, Young Midoriya!" the older man said. "Wait…Young Midoriya?! Then…wait a minute…Inko is your mom?!" All Might stuttered, clearly as surprised as his student.

Midoriya gawked at the two of them. "Oh, we'd better go! Good luck, Izuku! Come on, Eri, Yagi!" the green-haired woman said happily, dragging the skinny blonde giant with her, Eri sitting on her shoulders happily.

Her son, meanwhile, was still in shock over his mother and adoptive sister watching the Sports Festival in the faculty box with freaking _ALL MIGHT_. "_What even is today?_" he wondered.

* * *

**IN THE NEXT EXCITING CHAPTER OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**The Sports Festival begins! How will 1-A fare? What is the next round? Stay tuned for more!**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**It's Sports Festival time, people! Now the real fun begins as the story starts to pick up.**

**This chapter's title comes (kinda obviously) from the song "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence.**


	9. 9: 'Cause I Keep Runnin'

**CHAPTER 9: 'CAUSE I KEEP RUNNIN'**

* * *

In the 1-A locker room, the class was abuzz with excitement over their participation in their first-ever Sports Festival. As Midoriya laced up his red shoes, he was interrupted by a voice.

"Midoriya, Bakugo" Todoroki said, walking over to the greenette, as the explosive blonde raised his head.

"O-Oh hey, Todoroki" Midoriya said to the bichromatic boy.

"What do you want, IcyHot?" Bakugo growled, not liking Todoroki's tone.

Todoroki studied Midoriya, then glanced at Bakugo for a few moments, before continuing. "From an objective standpoint, I'm stronger than either of you…but you've got All Might in your corner, helping you out." Seeing the look of shock on the greenette's face and the glare Bakugo shot him, he resumed.

"I don't really care what's going on with the two of you, but know that I will beat you in the Festival today." And with that, the bichromatic teen walked out.

"We're not here to be friends today…we're here to kick each other's asses."

"Wait a minute, Todoroki" Midoriya said, causing Todoroki to pause. "I get that you're stronger than me – in fact, you've probably got a better handle on your powers than any other first year at UA. But that's not going to stop me, or anyone else from aiming to win. So…I accept your challenge!"

The other teen smirked slightly. "Fine by me" he said, before walking out.

"Prick" Bakugo said. "But he's got a point. We can team up in the second round, which is always team-based…but in the first round, we're competing. So don't hold anything back, Deku."

Midoriya grinned. "I won't, Kacchan."

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

"**_HEY-O, ALL YOU SPORTS FANS, AND WELCOME TO THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!_**" the Voice Hero shouted, eliciting a roar of excitement from the crowd. "**_I'M YOUR HOST, PRESENT MIC, AND JOINING ME ON COMMENTARY ARE ERASERHEAD AND INGENIUM! NOW, LET'S INTRODUCE THIS YEAR'S PARTICIPANTS!_**" The doors on the sides of the stadium opened as the first year students made their way to the field.

"**_FIRST UP IS THE CLASS THAT'S ALREADY FOUGHT VILLAINS! IT'S HERO COURSE 1-A!_**" the loud pro announced as the class in question made their way out into the arena. "**_AND JUST AS TALENTED, HERO CLASS 1-B!_**" Kendo and Tokage waved to the crowd as their class joined 1-A. "**_BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! HERE'S GENERAL STUDIES CLASSES C, D AND E! SUPPORT COURSES F, G AND H! AND THE BUSINESS COURSE, 1-I! GIVE THEM ALL A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE!_**"

The General Studies and Business courses were lead by a bunch of plain-faced teens in UA tracksuits, who were grumbling that they were only there to make the hero students look better. Meanwhile, a pinkette wearing dozens of crazy gizmos lead the Support Course students, grinning madly.

**_AND NOW INTRODUCING THIS YEAR'S REFEREE: THE RATED-R HERO, MIDNIGHT_**_!_"

The…very buxom woman in question stood atop a stage on one side of the field, inducing blushes among both students and spectators alike with her…movements. "SILENCE, EVERYONE!" the woman shouted, quieting everyone down. "LEADING THIS YEAR'S PLEDGE IS 1-A'S SPORTS FESTIVAL REPRESENTATIVE, IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

Bakugo and Monoma grinned at Midoriya. "Go get 'em, tiger" the explosive blonde said, nudging his friend forward.

Midoriya ascended onto the stage, kind of nervous despite knowing this was coming. He took the microphone, and after a few moments, started his speech. "I swear that I'll do my best today, as a great competitor at this amazing event…and now that that's out of the way, I want to ask you all…do your best today as well. Don't hold anything back. Do everything you can to win today; every one of you should be aiming for the top. Are you all fired up with me?" the greenette asked.

At first, silence met him, but after a few moments someone in the General Studies group started clapping…and within a few moments, the crowd was cheering raucously. "Good job, Deku. That's what I'm talking about!" Bakugo shouted.

"So let's go beyond!" the greenette shouted into the microphone, and an electric feeling shot through all the students and spectators; they knew what was coming next, and joined in as Midoriya finished his speech.

"PLUS ULTRA!"

"It's time for the first event: a four-kilometer obstacle course! All the classes will participate in this qualifier round." Midnight announced, before licking her lips. "I don't want to limit anyone too much...so as long as you stay on the track, anything goes! You have one minute to gather at the West Gate!"

The students crowded around the West Gate, ready for the race to begin. "_This will be interesting…I don't plan on losing, so let's make things weird! Mom, Dad, Eri, All Might…I hope you guys are watching!_" Midoriya thought as the timer started counting down.

"_Tensei…please watch me!_" Iida looked towards the commentary box where his brother sat.

"_I refuse to lose!_" thought Uraraka.

"BEGIN!"

***Cue My Hero Academia OST – Jet Set Run** *****

The students charged forward towards the narrow gateway with a roar of determination, every one of the gunning to win. "**_AAAAAAND THEY'RE OFF, FOLKS! HOW ABOUT SOME COMMENTARY FROM YOU TWO?_**" Present Mic shouted.

"**_I can't believe you actually talked me into this_**" Aizawa muttered. Ingenium just laughed.

"**_ANYTHING YOU TWO THINK WE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO AT THIS STAGE OF THE RACE?"_**

Ingenium's eyes narrowed. "**_That gateway. It's a natural pinch-point._**"

The students all pushed against each other, squashed together in the narrow tunnel. Midoriya felt a sudden chill go down his spine and jumped, narrowly avoiding being stuck in place by the wave of ice Todoroki generated, the cool air exploding out of the doorway and freezing the course in front of the stadium.

"Dammit, he's too strong!" one General Studies student commented. Several other students broke free quickly, with Aoyama, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, Honenuki, Bakugo and Shiozaki escaping easily.

"Let's get back on track, why don't we?" Midoriya muttered, swiping a finger across the ice flow and activating his Quirk.

Instantly, the ice transformed into a giant mess of light green tissue paper, which caused the air to be filled with the sound of crinkling paper after a few moments. The greenette dashed forward, his years of physical training with Bakugo allowing him to outpace most of the other students as he approached the first obstacle.

As Todoroki ran along, the other students did their best to get past the remainder of his icy path without having a nasty fall. Ashido created liquid from the soles of her feet to slide more manageably along the ice, while most others floundered. Uraraka tried not to slip as she moved forward, while the lack of friction let Bakugo move ahead even faster.

"Thanks for the help, Icyhot!" he roared, surging past Todoroki towards the first obstacle.

_Mina Ashido. Her Quirk: Acid! She can make acid of varying viscosity and strengths from the palms of her hands and soles of her feet!_

As a small General Studies student with round purple balls for hair bore down on Todoroki, gloating incoherently about his Quirk's strength, a metal robot arm came out of nowhere and smacked him clear off the path and into the bushes on the rest of campus.

"**_IIIIIIIT'S THE ROBO INFERNO!_**"

The path was guarded by droves of the One, Two and Three-Point robots from the entrance exam…as well as over a dozen Zero-Pointers, all glaring down with lifeless red camera eyes at the students below them.

"A-A-Are those the Zero-Pointers from the entrance exam?!" Kaminari asked, clearly panicking.

"Where the hell does the school even get the funding for these?!" Yaoyorozu wondered, unzipping her jacket.

Todoroki glared back at the robots. "So these are the Zero-Pointers the non-recommendation students had to face. I'm impressed, but I wish that they would be harder to beat" he said as one reached towards him. "Especially since daddy dearest is watching."

With that, the temperature dropped dramatically as the boy unleashed a wave of ice that immediately froze three Zero-Pointers dead in their tracks, before running between the legs of one. "Look! An opening!" a General Studies kid shouted.

"Hey now, be careful…I froze them while they were off balance" the bichromatic boy said, as the unstable robots fell behind him, the shockwave being felt even in the stadium.

"Let's see if we can make things weird again…" Midoriya said, ducking under a One-pointer's swing and grabbing its' neck. His Quirk activated, and he watched the whole thing fold into a tiny CD, which he picked up. "_Smash_ by The Offspring? My Quirk seems to really like making robots into their albums…" he noted, pocketing the CD, before approaching a group of four Two-Point bots with one Three-Pointer behind them.

"Time to put this move to the test. SPECIAL MOVE: CHAOS RUSH!" the greenette shouted as he wove between attacks and systematically touched every bot in the group before activating his Quirk.

The first bot turned to glass and shattered, the second dissolved into caramel syrup, the third one turned rogue and attacked the fourth, and the Three-Point bot started spinning and leaking…glue? Yeah, leaking glue from its' gun turrets, leaving a large obstacle for the students behind him.

"Well done, Young Midoriya!" All Might shouted, impressed.

"My baby's getting so strong…" Inko looked like she was about to start crying.

"Papa is amazing!" Eri shouted, stars in her eyes.

"Like hell these scrap heaps will slow me down!" Bakugo shouted, launching himself into the air and up to one Zero-Pointer's head with several smaller explosions, landing atop the mech.

"Forgive us if we're following along with your well-planned advance" Tokoyami said, as Dark Shadow hauled him up to the top of the robot's head.

"Tch. Now y'all are following my lead?" Bakugo said, irritation in his voice.

"What can I say? Not our fault you've got good ideas" Sero said, reeling himself in with his tape.

_Hanta Sero. His Quirk: Tape! He can shoot tape as strong as steel from his weird elbows!_

Meanwhile, Uraraka battled through rows of bots, shredding them by dropping them from a good height with her Quirk. Kaminari electrocuted several robots, using his Quirk more cautiously than usual. Jiro drove her earphone jacks into a few more bots and deactivated them with sonic attacks, and ahead of them, the Zero-Pointers…exploded?

Sure enough, Yaoyorozu had created a cannon with her Quirk and was tearing through the giant enemies like they were made of paper. "_What an amazing Quirk. Momo really is awesome!_" Midoriya thought, as a large explosion lit up another Zero-Pointer. Looking closer, the source of the explosion was not Bakugo but Monoma, who had copied Bakugo just before the race's start and was making the most of the powerful Quirk.

"**_AND 1-A'S BEST SHOW THEIR STUFF, AS MOMO YAOYOROZU AND NEITO MONOMA TEAR THE ROBO INFERNOS APART!_**"

"No, Izuku, baby, run away! Save yourself!" Inko cried, water streaming from her eyes.

"Young Midoriya won't give in; his heroic heart motivates him to fight on even when the odds are against him" All Might said, taking Inko's hand in his. "That's why he's a true hero in the making." The woman only began crying harder at that.

"Papa is strong…" Eri noted.

As this was happening, Midoriya ran up to another Zero-Pointer, dodging its' attacks with ease, then placed his hand against its' base. "_Here we go again…!_" he thought, as the giant robot shuddered…and after a few moments, the Zero-Pointer transformed into another giant marble statue of All Might.

"**_Oh god, not again_**" Aizawa groaned at the sight.

Several students stared at one of the robots Todoroki had frozen, its' icy carcass lying on the ground. "Didn't that fall on someone?" a student asked.

Then, the metal of the robot buckled and Kirishima burst out of its' remains. "I'M ALIVE!" he shouted triumphantly.

"**_1-A'S KIRISHIMA IS UNBREAKABLE! HE'S LIKE THE ULTIMATE SPEAR AND ULTIMATE SHIELD!_**"

"Dammit Todoroki! Anyone else would have died!" Kirishima cursed, throwing a glare in the general direction of the bichromatic boy.

A nearby section of robot buckled. "What an asshole that 1-A guy is! Anyone else would have died!" Tetsutetsu shouted, cracking his neck.

"**_1-B'S TETSUTETSU IS UNBREAKABLE! HE'S LIKE THE ULTIMATE SPEAR AND ULTIMATE SHIELD!_**"

"**_Didn't you just say that about-!_**" Aizawa began, before Mic cut him off. "**_THEY'RE SO SIMILAR!_**"

As the other students carved a path through the robots, Midoriya raced ahead like a bolt of green lightning…almost failing to stop in time as the ground disappeared beneath him. "W-What the fuuuuuuu-!" the boy began, teetering on the edge.

The next two hundred meters was a maze of pillars surrounded on all sides by an impossibly deep pit, thin cables snaking between them. Ahead of him, Bakugo blasted over the obstacle, while Todoroki slid along a cable with his ice and Asui clambered along a cable like it was second nature for her. "This is perfect for me, _kero_."

**_"IT'S THE FALL! FALL IN AND YOU'RE OUT!"_**

"Heh heh heh…this is perfect!" a voice came from behind him, looking back, he saw a pinkette covered in support gadgets gloating to herself. "Time for us support students to show what we can do!" The girl shot a long grappling hook out all the way to the other side of the obstacle course, before shouting "Shine, my cute babies!", and jumping into the pit…and as her rope reeled her in, she shot upwards, clearing the obstacle with ease.

"So unfair!" Ashido pouted.

"Not really. The Support Department students are often kinda weak physically, but they're all brilliant inventors…so they get to bring anything they've invented as a crutch" Monoma said as he drew up. "I'd better go. Only got about another minute left on Bakugo's Quirk" he said, as explosions shot from his hands and propelled him forward.

"I know Tensei is watching…so I'd better not make myself look like a fool!" Iida said, using his engines to move while balancing on a cable.

"**_You look like a dork, Tenya_**" Ingenium snorted in the commentary box.

"I can't lose here!" Midoriya yelled, before grabbing one of the cables and activating his Quirk. The cable became elastic, but retained its' strength. "_With any luck…I should be able to shoot through the air to the other side!_" Pulling on the cable with all his strength, he activated his Quirk again and increased the probability of the cable losing it's elasticity and returning to its' original state, shooting him forward into the air.

"Woo-hoo!" he shouted as he passed Shoji and Tsubaraba in midair, waving at them cheerily. Tsubaraba scowled, while Shoji waved back with a hand duplicated on one of his arms. Landing on the other side in a roll, Midoriya shot back to his feet and pursued Bakugo and Monoma, who were bickering about something. "Kacchan! Neito!" The blondes looked back.

"About time you caught up, Deku!" Bakugo said.

"So far so good, Young Midoriya" All Might said, grinning at the sight of his pupil mastering his power.

Todoroki came to a sudden stop, seeing a peaceful field of dirt in front of him…too peaceful. "Why are you stopping, man?" a General Studies student asked, stepping onto the field.

Todoroki's eyes widened when he heard a very distinctive "click". "No, wait-!" he began, as a massive pink blast erupted in front of him, the hapless student flying backwards, knocked out. "Shit, there's mines!" he shouted.

"**_THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S THE FINAL OBSTACLE: THE MINEFIELD!_**" Mic roared.

"**_Please note that, while the mines are rather scary, they're harmless; just a blast of heat, light, pink dye and baby powder_**" Ingenium explained.

"**_Looks like the competition is heating up a bit_**" Aizawa said, as the cameras focused on the bichromatic boy in the front.

Todoroki carefully crossed the minefield, avoiding the telltale round patches of disturbed earth where the mines were buried, when suddenly, like an angry rocket, Bakugo caught up to him. "I got you, Icy Hot! Next time you declare war, don't be a moron about it!" he bellowed, aiming an explosion at the bichromatic boy. Iida raced across the minefield, while Shiozaki used her vines to disarm any explosives in her path, gliding across the battlefield as an untouched symbol of purity.

Midoriya finally reached the minefield and cursed at how far behind he'd fallen. "_I spent too much time crossing the pitfall; I need to get creative_" the boy thought, before noticing several mines nearby. "_Oh, this is a really, REALLY fucking dumb idea_…" he thought, as he swiped a finger over each mine.

"Deku? What are you up to?" Uraraka asked.

"Ochako? Oh, this is perfect. Want to catch up with Kacchan and Todoroki?" he asked.

As Bakugo and Todoroki drew closer to the end of the minefield, a massive explosion shook the stadium, heat and a cloud of pink powder rapidly expanding to cover the back half of the obstacle. "**_That's definitely bigger than the mine blasts were supposed to be_**" Ingenium noted.

As the other students shielded themselves from the blast, Midoriya shot out of the cloud of pink, a crazed grin on his face. "Woo-hoo! I believe I can fly; I believe I can touch the skyyyyy!" he sang.

Uraraka held onto his left hand as they soared through the air. "Deku, you're crazy!" she laughed.

"YES! That's it, Young Midoriya!" All Might roared, almost shifting into his muscle form in excitement.

"Izuku, my precious baby boy…I'm so proud of you!" Inko began to cry again.

"I'll get the mop" Power Loader said, excusing himself.

"Thank you, Majima" All Might said gratefully.

"Don't cry, Grandma Inko!" Eri said…which only made the green-haired woman cry harder.

"What the actual fuck, Deku, Ochako? This is crazy even for you!" Bakugo shouted, before giving chase.

Todoroki smoldered in cold fury. "_I won't be shown up…not in front of the old man!_" the bichromatic boy thought, before racing forward as Bakugo's explosions shot him towards the falling duo.

"Uhhh, Deku? Do we have a landing strategy?" Uraraka asked the greenette.

"Oh, right. A landing strategy…" Midoriya thought, before an idea struck him. "Of course!" he shouted, swiping his fingers through the air and activating his Quirk, grinning when he felt his hand enter an invisible space and grip something solid.

The pro heroes, other students and viewers worldwide all gawked as the green-haired problem child produced a massive hammer labeled "10 Ton" out of midair and slammed it into the ground, triggering several more mines and launching the two of them forward uncontrollably towards the finish line. Bakugo raced in, pushing his Blast Rush Turbo to its' limits in an attempt to win the race, only to collide in midair with his two friends and tumble over the finish line in a heap.

"**_AND IT'S A PHOTO FINISH FOR THE FIRST ROUND! LET'S SEE WHAT THE HIGH-SPEED REPLAYS SHOW!_**" A slow-motion video played on screens around the stadium, showing the results of the race. "**_THERE YOU HAVE IT, FOLKS! THE WINNER OF THE FIRST EVENT OF THIS YEAR'S SPORTS FESTIVAL IS NONE OTHER THAN IZUKU MIDORIYA!_**" The replay showed Midoriya hitting the ground first, followed almost immediately by Bakugo, then Uraraka.

Confetti rained in the late spring sunshine on the dazed trio. "That was some real Looney Tunes shit, Deku…" Bakugo grumbled.

"YES!" All Might shouted in joy, transforming into his muscle form. Fortunately for the Symbol of Peace, his green-haired companion had already passed out in joy after seeing her son win.

"Skinny man is All Might?" Eri wondered aloud.

Outside, Death Arms and Kamui Woods did a double-take seeing the boy from the sludge villain incident winning the first round of the Sports Festival. In a darkened bar, Tomura Shigaraki scratched his neck at the sight.

And in a secret lair somewhere, hooked up to multiple life-support machines, an ancient supervillain grinned, his interest piqued by the green-haired boy.

* * *

After the other students had finished the race, Midnight strutted up onto the stage again. "Well then, now that the race has ended, let's see the results." The board displayed the following stats:

1st Place – Izuku Midoriya, 1-A

2nd Place – Katsuki Bakugo, 1-A

3rd Place – Ochako Uraraka, 1-A

4th Place – Shoto Todoroki, 1-A

5th Place – Juzo Honenuki, 1-B

6th Place – Ibara Shiozaki, 1-B

7th Place – Momo Yaoyorozu, 1-A

8th Place – Tenya Iida, 1-A

9th Place – Fumikage Tokoyami, 1-A

10th Place – Setsuna Tokage, 1-B

11th Place – Neito Monoma, 1-A

12th Place – Itsuka Kendo, 1-B

13th Place – Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, 1-B

14th Place – Eijiro Kirishima, 1-A

15th Place – Yosetsu Awase, 1-A

16th Place – Jurota Shishida, 1-B

17th Place – Mezo Shoji, 1-A

18th Place – Kyoka Jiro, 1-A

19th Place – Sen Kaibara, 1-B

20th Place – Tsuyu Asui, 1-A

21st Place – Mashirao Ojiro, 1-B

22nd Place – Hitoshi Shinsou, 1-A

23rd Place – Mina Ashido, 1-A

24th Place – Reiko Yanagi, 1-B

25th Place – Pony Tsunotori, 1-B

26th Place – Togaru Kamakiri, 1-B

27th Place – Hanta Sero, 1-A

28th Place – Manga Fukidashi, 1-B

29th Place – Yui Kodai, 1-A

30th Place – Kojiro Bondo, 1-B

31st Place – Kosei Tsubaraba, 1-A

32nd Place – Kinoko Komori, 1-B

33rd Place – Nirengeki Shoda, 1-B

34th Place – Shihai Kuroiro, 1-B

35th – Denki Kaminari, 1-A

36th Place – Hiryu Rin, 1-B

37th Place – Rikido Sato, 1-B

38th place – Koji Koda, 1-B

39th Place – Tooru Hagakure, 1-B

40th Place – Mei Hatsume, 1-H

41st Place – Yuga Aoyama, 1-A

"Only these 41 individuals will move on! Don't worry if you didn't move on…you'll have plenty of other opportunities to shine. But now, let's see what the next event is!" Midnight said, cracking her whip. "Ooooh, the suspense is killing me~" she moaned, as the hologram displayed a spinning selection of possible events. The wheel came to a stop, landing on…

"A Cavalry Battle!"

* * *

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**The Cavalry Battle commences! Who will team up? What will the tournament look like? Stay tuned for more!**

* * *

**FROM THE FILES OF IZUKU MIDORIYA**

**Quirk: Zero Gravity**

**User(s): Ochako Uraraka**

**About: Zero Gravity is somewhat of a misnomer for this Quirk, as it actually nullifies all external forces, including gravity, inertia and kinetic energy, on any object Uraraka touches with all five fingers. By pressing her fingertips together, she can release her nullification.**

**Weaknesses: Can induce nausea with overuse. Requires physical contact with all five fingers.**

**Improvements: Acclimatization by the user to nausea can increase the user's weight limit. Very creative applications possible.**

**Comments: An utterly physics-breaking Quirk. Ridiculously strong; can't imagine how strong she'll be if she accepts One For All.**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**Now it's time for the Cavalry Battle! I wanted to do something else, but I legitimately couldn't think of anything else, especially given how crappy I've proven to be at writing Capture-the-Flag games.**

**This chapter's title comes from the song "Runnin'" by Adam Lambert.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. 10: Give It To Me, Baby

**CHAPTER 10: GIVE IT TO ME, BABY**

* * *

"The next event is a Cavalry Battle!" the risqué pro announced, cracking her whip.

"So it's a team event…" Shinsou said.

"Oh great, something complicated" Kaminari muttered.

"_Time for the next trial to begin…_" Midoriya thought, before glancing to the faculty box. "_Let's do this!_"

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

"Allow me to explain" Midnight said, pointing to the screen. "The participants will form teams of two to four and start wherever they want in the arena. In theory, it's the same as the playground game…but there's a few added twists" she added, licking her lips. "Each player is assigned a point value based on their placement in the race. 41st is worth ten points, 40th worth twenty, and so on…"

"Except for first place, who is worth TEN MILLION POINTS."

Immediately, everyone's heads snapped around to stare at Midoriya. "_Oh…Oh crap! I've painted a huge target on my back!_"

"That's right…it's the perfect chance for those at the bottom to eliminate those at the top!"

"Oh no, Papa's in trouble…" Eri said.

"My poor baby…" Inko murmured.

"Good luck, Young Midoriya…you'll need it" All Might said.

"The headbands of other teams will have point values written on them; collect enough points from headbands and you'll advance to the next round" Midnight said. "No making other teams trip intentionally, and if the rider touches the ground, they're out! You have fifteen minutes to form teams!"

Midoriya went to ask Iida, only for the engine boy to decline. "I'm sorry, Izuku…but ever since the entrance exam, I've felt like I've only been playing second fiddle to you. So, I'm declaring my challenge to you. I will beat you, and prove myself worthy of your friendship!" Iida declared, before walking over to Todoroki's team, which consisted of the bichromatic teen, Yaoyorozu (who looked determinatedly and sadly at the greenette) and the Support Course student from 1-H, Mei Hatsume.

Todoroki sent a cold smirk in Midoriya's direction, as if to say "_Look, even your friends are against you. Give up now and make this easier for me._"

"_Psychological warfare, eh? I wonder if Todoroki knows he kind of sucks at it?_" Midoriya thought, smirking himself.

"Kacchan! Want to team up?" the greenette asked the ash-blonde, who looked at him for a moment, then shook his head.

"Sorry Deku…but I'm gonna have to pass" Bakugo said.

"Wait, why? I thought we were going to team up in the second round?" Midoriya asked.

"That was my original plan, Deku…but thinking about it some more, both of us rely on our hands to use our Quirks, which means if we were on a team one of us would be functionally Quirkless" Bakugo responded.

"You're right…good luck, I guess?" the greenette said.

"Good luck, Deku. I'm gonna fucking crush IcyHot and then I'll meet you in the finals!" the explosive blonde responded.

"Deku! Let's team up!" Uraraka said.

"Ochako! Oh thank god!" Midoriya said, briefly overcoming his inhibitions and hugging the brunette…before quickly separating as the two madly blushed, while Bakugo, Shinsou and Monoma all simultaneously wolf-whistled.

"Look at this guy!" Monoma said teasingly as he walked up. "Got room for one more?"

"Look! Mama, Papa and Uncle Neito are teaming up!" Eri said excitedly, as All Might nodded in agreement.

"You two are really going to team up with me?" Midoriya asked.

"Of course. That's what friends are for, right?" Monoma said, before briefly glaring at Iida, who shot him an apologetic look.

"Alright, we need one more person…a strong front horse…and I have just the person!" Midoriya said, approaching someone and tapping him on the shoulder.

* * *

"**_AAAAAND WE'RE BACK, FOLKS!_**" Present Mic bellowed, as the audience cheered. "**_IT'S TIME TO START THE CAVALRY BATTLE! READY, MIDNIGHT?_**"

The risqué pro cracked her whip. "It's time, youngsters!" she said, as the students stood at various points across the field, ready to go. The teams were ready to go, with all their different students hungry to move on to the final round; the scoreboard displayed each team and the number of points they had.

Team Midoriya (10,001,070): Izuku Midoriya, Ochako Uraraka, Juzo Honenuki, Neito Monoma

Team Bakugo (1,170): Katsuki Bakugo, Ibara Shiozaki, Eijiro Kirishima, Yui Kodai

Team Kendo (1,140): Itsuka Kendo, Sen Kaibara, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Setsuna Tokage

Team Todoroki (1,090): Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Tenya Iida, Mei Hatsume

Team Shinsou (790): Hitoshi Shinsou, Reiko Yanagi, Fumikage Tokoyami, Shihai Kuroiro

Team Awase (680): Yosetsu Awase, Denki Kaminari, Hanta Sero, Mina Ashido

Team Komori (500): Kinoko Komori, Manga Fukidashi, Jurota Shishida

Team Asui (470): Tsuyu Asui, Mezo Shoji

Team Jiro (360): Kyoka Jiro, Kosei Tsubaraba, Yuga Aoyama

Team Hagakure (330): Tooru Hagakure, Koji Koda, Mashirao Ojiro, Rikido Sato

Team Kamakiri (330): Togaru Kamakiri, Pony Tsunotori

Team Rin (270): Hiryu Rin, Nirengeki Shoda, Kojiro Bondo

"This is it, guys…let's do our best" Midoriya said to his team. Uraraka stood as his right flank, while Monoma mirrored her on the left.

Their front horse stood proudly, happy to have been picked by the first-place winner's team. "I'll give this my all" Juzo Honenuki of 1-B said.

Up in the faculty box, Eri swallowed a bite of candy apple. 'Good luck, Papa…"

Midnight raised one hand. "Let the cavalry battle…BEGIN!"

***cue My Hero Academia OST – Bombing King!***

Immediately, it seemed like almost every team on the field came after Midoriya and company. "Well, fuck. Honenuki, you know what to do!"

The lipless boy nodded and stomped a foot on the ground, turning the field to mud beneath them. "Hold your breath, guys; this is gonna feel weird!" he said, as two teams charged them from each side. One was 1-B's Team Komori, which consisted of the mushroom girl and a boy with a literal speech bubble for a head riding atop a massive hairy beast-man, who was presumably Jurota Shishida. The other was Team Jiro, which consisted of the punk girl being carried on a platform of Tsubaraba's Solid Air by the bug-eyed boy and Aoyama.

"Get them!" Jiro and Komori shouted in unison.

The bubble-headed boy shouted "SCHWING!" and a massive onomatopoeia expanded…suggestively towards them, materializing from his head.

"Art of Seduction!" Aoyama said, thrusting his hips…suggestively and shooting a laser beam towards them. Team Midoriya sunk into the earth just in time as the two attacks collided.

"I doubt that was very appropriate, Fukidashi" Shishida chided.

"Fair enough" the boy responded in a tone that was both nasally and squeaky.

"**_WHAT'S THIS? TEAM MIDORIYA GOES UNDERGROUND!_**"

Inside an air pocket within the ground, Team Midoriya traveled towards the edge of the arena. "Alright, we're safe here for now…but we'll have to resurface soon. We won't be safe here for long" Midoriya said, looking upwards, the only light coming from Monoma's nose, which was glowing thanks to Midoriya's Quirk.

Uraraka was barely resisting the urge to start whistling "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" at the sight. "Hold on, who's going to get us down here?" the gravity girl asked.

"Well, given what we know about our class and what Honenuki has told us about his class, we've got several people to worry about. Koda could send moles to chase us with Anivoice, Shiozaki could use Vines to attack us down here, Ashido's Acid could get us, Shishida could dig here with his Beast transformation, Komori's Mushrooms could grow mycelia down here to attack us, and I'm pretty sure I saw that support class girl lugging around some kind of drill gauntlets" Midoriya said, much to Uraraka's chagrin.

"Well, fuck. What do you propose?" Monoma said.

"Oh, I've got a few ideas…and they all center around some convenient holes in the rules" the greenette responded, rubbing his hands together.

* * *

Back on the surface, Todoroki was getting impatient. "_This is bad…I NEED to crush Midoriya and get the ten million…it's the only way I'll be able to show _him_ I don't need his power to be Number One…_" He looked down at Yaoyorozu and Hatsume, who were apparently a perfect match for each other, as they were producing…drill missiles? Drill missiles, which were programmed to Hatsume's master controller.

"These babies are amazing! Your Quirk is awesome, ponytail girl!" Hatsume cackled.

"Are they done?" Todoroki demanded.

"Yes, they're ready. My sonic sounder has confirmed their location and the rockets are ready for launch" the ponytailed girl said, tapping a command in. "Ready, Hatsume?" she asked.

"Ready!" the pinkette responded.

"Launch!" Todoroki ordered, and with the touch of a button, a swarm of drill-tipped rockets soared into the air before diving into the ground. A few moments later, a low rumbling noise confirmed the detonation of the depth charges. "That should force him to the surface" the bichromatic boy said confidently.

The rumbling noise continued, then got stronger after a few moments. "**_Well, this is interesting. Looks like Team Midoriya is up to something_**" Aizawa remarked.

Bakugo laughed. "IcyHot fucked up. He poked a sleeping bear and now Deku is gonna rain chaos on the field" he said, spinning Team Kamakiri's 330 points on his finger; the mantis boy and his American partner were tied together and parked in a corner of the field with a few of Shiozaki's vines. "Shiozaki, we're gonna want a shield in about seven and a half seconds." The vine-haired girl obliged as the rumbling intensified.

Then the field rippled and a swarm of sharks of various size composed of living mud attacked all the teams. "Katsu had the right idea. Tokoyami, shield us!" Shinsou said to his front horse, the raven-headed boy obliging and using Dark Shadow to form a dome around them.

"Well, fuck" was all Jiro could say as the swarm of sharks descended upon the field. The semisolid fishes proved to be fairly weak, usually turning back to mud after a few solid hits, but they were annoying and a good distraction.

The rumbling intensified in one corner of the field, and Todoroki turned his head just in time to see a massive humpback whale made from mud sprout out of the ground, Team Midoriya riding proudly on its' back. The greenette smirked and cheekily tugged on his headband, sending a challenge out to the teams still in contention. "_Come and get it, you posers!_"

The bichromatic boy then looked down slightly and locked eyes with Monoma, who smiled a shit-eating grin and then flipped him the bird. The whale hit the ground and melted back into the dirt, taking Team Midoriya with it.

"Damn him…" Todoroki growled. "Everyone, we're taking him down!"

Team Awase stood in another part of the field in a rather…interesting position. Kaminari, who made up the left flank of the team's "horse" was currently in a handstand with an ear pressed to the ground. "Hear anything?" the headbanded boy asked.

"Yeah, I'm feeling several strong bioelectrical signatures a couple feet underground…right over there!" Kaminari responded, quickly springing back to his feet and pointing to a section of bare earth near the edge of the field. Sure enough, the dirt began to ripple, and a few moments later, the greenette's team resurfaced.

"Now!" Awase yelled, as his team charged forward. "I've got the ten million!" he shouted, jumping (perhaps unwisely) from his team towards Midoriya.

"_Oh shit!_" the greenette thought, knowing that he was currently at a disadvantage physically and his Quirk couldn't affect anything near him at that moment. "_Wait a minute…I can touch the air, can't I?_" he wondered.

"Ten million, here I come!" Awase shouted, lunging. Midoriya swiped his hands through the air and grinned when the familiar tingle of his Quirk activating travelled up his arm, before yelling the first thing that came to mind.

"_ARRIVERDERCI!_"

And with that, a massive zipper appeared in the air and opened with a clinking noise. Awase had just enough time to yell "FUCK!" one more time before falling through the crack into some kind of weird forest, the zipper closing up automatically behind him.

"**_Wait, is that legal?_**" Ingenium wondered aloud.

Midnight cracked her whip. "Midoriya! Where did Awase go?" she asked.

The greenette looked at his hands. "I honestly don't know…and I'm not sure I can get him back easily" he responded.

"**WHAT'S THE VERDICT?**" Present Mic shouted.

"Well, since Midoriya didn't know that would happen, and his Quirk isn't exactly predictable, I'll allow it just this once! If it happens again he'll be disqualified, but until Awase is retrieved, that team will have to sit this one out!" Ashido, Kaminari and Sero all groaned at that, before making their way to the edge of the field and sitting down next to the risqué pro.

"Now, where were we?" Midoriya asked, before narrowly dodging a long pink appendage. "T-Tsu?" he asked, before turning and noticing Shoji charging them.

"Got it on the first try AND you remembered to call me Tsu! You're really something, Midoriya!" the frog girl croaked from inside a cocoon of the multi-armed boy's limbs. "But we're taking the ten million!" Her tongue shot out again, the greenette barely dodging.

"To the sky!" he shouted, as Monoma and Uraraka activated Zero-Gravity and leapt into the air. The greenette clasped a piece of chewing gum from his pocket and activated his Quirk.

The gum stretched all the way out to the announcer's box. "**_What are you doing, Midoriya? Why are you grinning?_**" Aizawa asked in a deadpan tone. The gum contracted suddenly, pulling the weightless team through the air and launching them onto the giant shade structure over the stadium's edge.

"**_Midnight, is that even legal?_**" Ingenium asked again.

"There's nothing against it in the rules!" Midoriya shouted from the top of the stadium.

"He's got a point…I'll allow it!" the pro said, cracking her whip.

"**_Would it kill you to be literally any less lenient, Nemuri?_**" Aizawa asked.

A barrage of scales shot over the heads of the leading team. "Where the hell did those come from?" Monoma asked, before another barrage answered his question.

"Get down here, dammit!" yelled the leader of Team Rin, his arms covered in scales.

_Hiryu Rin. His Quirk: Scales! He can grow a layer of tough scales all over his body and fire them like bullets!_

"At least they missed us, I guess" Uraraka said.

"You'd better not have jinxed us…" Monoma responded.

Honenuki's eyes narrowed, then widened in surprise. "Crap, they've got Shoda on their team! Look out above us!"

The heavyset blue-haired boy on Team Rin snapped his fingers. "TWIN IMPACT!" The fired scales, which had soared far overhead by now, suddenly changed direction and soared towards Team Midoriya at several times their original speed.

_Nirengeki Shoda. His Quirk: Twin Impact! He can create a powerful kinetic impact at the site of any previous hit with several times the force!_

The scales rained down where Team Midoriya had stood a few moments earlier, fortunately enough not penetrating the metal of the roof (all the viewers seated below the action breathed a collective sigh of relief at that). "Let's go again!" the Chinese transfer student stated to his teammates, aiming his arms to fire more scales…only to find that his team was frozen up to their elbows in ice, and Todoroki was making off with their headband.

"Midoriya is my prey, and nobody else's" the bichromatic boy said coldly.

"**_TEAM TODOROKI RUTHLESSLY IMMOBILIZES TEAM RIN!_**"

Bakugo growled at this, gripping the headband Shiozaki had covertly snatched from Team Asui in his hand. "Bastard's hogging the spotlight. How about we take him down a peg?" Kodai nodded and reached down, picking some pebbles up off the ground and using her Quirk on them before handing them off to Bakugo. "I like how you think, Yui!" he said.

"_First-name basis?_" the quiet girl wondered.

The explosive blonde gripped the rocks in his right hand, then flung them forward as hard as he could, a large explosion bolstering the attack. "Now!" The dark-haired _kuudere_ touched her fingers together, and the rocks expanded to the size of small boulders, hurtling at high speed towards Team Todoroki.

The bichromatic boy's eyes widened. "Yaoyorozu! You know what to do!" The raven-haired girl produced a pole from her right arm which drug through the ground alongside them. Iida and Hatsume turned as Todoroki used his Quirk to create a massive glacier, blocking the barrage of boulders breaking huge chunks of ice.

"C'mere IcyHot! I'll show you what it means to challenge me!" Bakugo roared. Team Jiro and Team Hagakure were caught up in the icy attack and frozen in place, but their headbands were already gone – taken by some other team, Todoroki surmised.

"**_WE'RE TEN MINUTES IN, SO LET'S CHECK THE RANKINGS! TEAM MIDORIYA STILL HOLDS FIRST, FOLLOWED BY TEAM BAKUGO, TEAM TODOROKI, TEAM KENDO AND TEAM SHINSOU! TEAM AWASE IS STILL OUT OF COMMISSION, AND EVERYONE ELSE HAS NO POINTS AT ALL!_**"

Meanwhile, Team Midoriya had returned to the arena floor gracefully thanks to the two Zero Gravity users, and were currently on the run from Team Asui and Team Komori, whose points had been snagged by Team Bakugo and Team Shinsou, respectively.

"Shitshitshitshit!" the four members of the leading team cursed in unison as Team Todoroki joined the chase.

"We can outrun Todoroki and his team…but I don't think we can outpace Shishida and Shoji much longer!" Monoma yelled.

"That's why we're going to get creative again…full steam ahead!" Midoriya responded, pointing to one of the side gates to the arena.

"**_You've got to be kidding me_**" Aizawa said.

In the faculty box, All Might was hackling (hacking and cackling) at his student's antics. "Young Midoriya, your creativity truly knows no bounds!"

Inko was giggling, and in the background it wasn't hard to hear Power Loader, Thirteen, Ectoplasm and Snipe all snickering at the scene.

"God, he's driving Shouta up the wall!" Thirteen chuckled.

"About time – he could do to take that stick out of his-!" Ectoplasm began, before Hound Dog cut him off. "Not around Eri!" The white-haired child didn't notice; too engrossed in her adoptive family's antics to do anything but smile joyfully.

"**_Again, is that even legal?_**" Ingenium asked.

Midnight started to raise her hand, only to be cut off by Midoriya shouting "There's nothing against it in the rules!".

"Ugh, fine…I'll allow it!" Midnight shouted, Aizawa groaning again at her leniency.

Somewhere else, Principal Nezu was laughing his ass off at Midoriya's antics. "Oh, I like this one! I wonder if I could mentor him…?" And just like that, pro heroes all over the country and UA's faculty felt a simultaneous shiver of terror crawl up their spines.

The ten million-point team rounded a corner and dashed past the locker rooms, racing down a long hallway. A couple unlucky pros were bowled over by the teenagers dashing full-tilt down the hallway, falling to the ground only to be run over by three more teams of competitive students. "Come here, Midoriya!" Shishida growled.

"No thanks!" Uraraka responded, sticking her tongue out at the hairy teen, who growled and ran faster in pursuit.

Team Midoriya rounded another corner and down another hallway. About halfway down the hall, another hallway intersected with it…and out from that hallway stepped a massive red-haired man clad in navy blue with flames adorning his hair, face, beard and shoes.

"Look out!" Monoma shouted, as the man noticed the group of teenagers running towards him. Eyes widening slightly, he stepped backwards just in time for three teams to pass by him so fast that his fiery beard was extinguished. Team Todoroki ran past, and the bichromatic boy atop the "horse" glared with utter icy contempt at the man, before flash-freezing the entire hallway as the teams rounded one last corner and ran back towards the field.

The Number Two Hero, Flame Hero Endeavor, blinked for a few moments, before reigniting his beard and scrunching his face up in confusion. Just what the hell was UA teaching their students nowadays? Finally, he uttered three simple words.

"What…the fuck?"

* * *

"**_AND HERE THE COME NOW, JUST AS FAST AS THEY VANISHED!_**" Present Mic screeched, as Team Midoriya dashed out of the exit, followed closely by Team Asui and Team Komori.

"Is it just me, or is it getting colder?" Asui asked.

"Oh no…" Shoji trailed off, as an explosion of cold air shot out of the tunnel, freezing both of the pursuing teams to the ground as Team Todoroki continued their pursuit of Team Midoriya. Shoji noticed his teammate's shivering form and wrapped her in his arms to keep her warm, relaxing slightly when the frog girl's shivering subsided somewhat.

Meanwhile, Team Bakugo had chosen their final target: the ten million points. "HEY DEKU! ONE, TWO, WE'RE COMIN' FOR YOU!" Bakugo roared, a massive grin covering his face.

"_Kacchan's really getting into this, isn't he?_" Midoriya thought, sweatdropping at his best friend's intensity.

"**_THIRTY SECONDS LEFT!_**" Mic announced.

"Wait, shit, really?" Monoma asked.

"Honenuki! Make as big a softened area around us as you can!" Midoriya shouted, the lipless boy obliging.

"Don't think that'll stop me!" Bakugo yelled, launching himself through the air towards Midoriya, one of Shiozaki's vines waiting to reel him in.

"Todoroki, there is something I should tell you. I have a move that, while it may render me useless afterwards, should allow us to win" Iida said, getting into a sprinter's stance and readying himself to run. He relayed his plan to his teammates, who nodded in agreement. The boy's engines began to shoot blue flames, as he prepared to dash forward.

"**_TWENTY SECONDS LEFT!_**"

Midoriya readied himself for Bakugo's attack, swinging his hand through the air and creating a layer of prismatic air with unknown properties. "_Well, that's new_" the greenette thought.

"TORQUE OVER…RECIPRO BURST!"

And in a sudden burst of speed, Team Todoroki raced past from the left and grabbed the ten million points from Midoriya. "Wha-?" both of the childhood friends gawked, before springing into action.

"C'MERE ICYHOT!" Bakugo roared, turning his attention to Todoroki.

"I'm taking that back!" Midoriya said, his Quirk activating as his hand burst into emerald flames, the greenette swinging at Todoroki.

The bichromatic boy's eyes widened, and for a moment, flames covered his left side. "_What the hell am I doing?_" he wondered, before Midoriya tore two of the three headbands from Todoroki.

"_I hope one of those was the ten million!_" the greenette thought as Present Mic's voice cut through the air.

"**_TIME'S UP! LET'S SEE THE RESULTS!_**"

Midnight cracked her whip. "**_IIIIIN FIRST PLACE, WITH 10,001,070 POINTS, NONE OTHER THAN TEAM TODOROKI!_** Iida adjusted his glasses, while Hatsume gloated and Todoroki coldly stared.

"**_IN SECOND PLACE, TEAM SHINSOU WITH 1,980 POINTS! WHAT A SURPRISE!_**" Shinsou grinned, while Tokoyami and Kuroiro engaged in some kind of gothic brood-off and Yanagi stood next to the insomniac.

"Looks like today is the day of the emo kids" Shinsou snarked.

"What a mad banquet of darkness" the other two boys responded in unison, before glaring at each other.

"**_IN THIRD PLACE WITH 1,970 POINTS, TEAM BAKUGO!_** The explosive blonde looked slightly sour.

"We didn't crush IcyHot…but we still good. Nicely done, all of you" he complimented Kirishima, Shiozaki and Kodai gruffly. "Don't get a big head because you beat us by ten damn points" he growled at Shinsou, who rolled his eyes.

"**_IN FOURTH WITH 1,360 POINTS, TEAM MIDORIYA!_**" The greenette smiled, while Monoma and Honenuki high-fived.

"Yay! We did it, Deku-kun!" Uraraka shouted, hugging Midoriya, who stopped functioning. Monoma, Bakugo and Shinsou whistled in unison at this, only making their friend blush harder.

"**_IN FIFTH WITH 1,140 POINTS, TEAM KENDO!_**" The orange-haired girl looked at her team.

"We'll get 'em next time…" Tetsutetsu muttered.

Midnight walked up to Midoriya. "Midoriya. Now that the battle is over, Awase needs to be brought back from…wherever you sent him."

The greenette jumped. "Oh, right!" Swiping his hands through the air he activated his Quirk, and a massive zipper appeared again, before the headbanded boy dove through, looking grimy, scruffy and unshaven, his 680 points still fastened around his head.

"Holy fuck!" he yelled. "Three months! I spent THREE MONTHS in that forest, fighting those alien bugs and avoiding eating those weird fruits that mutate shit! At least the bugs were safe to eat…but the worst part is that I used up all my pocket ketchup to make the edible!" he roared, dumping no fewer than six massive empty bottles of the red condiment out of his uniform.

"You carry pocket ketchup?" Sero asked.

"You _don't_ carry pocket ketchup?" Awase responded.

"**_AND IN SIXTH PLACE, TEAM AWASE, WHO STILL HAVE THEIR 680 POINTS ONE DIMENSIONAL JUMP LATER!_**"

"This officially concludes the second round of the Sports Festival! We will now break an hour for lunch. Good job~" Midnight said, before walking offstage to grab a bite to eat.

"_I can't believe he forced me to use my fire, even for a moment…this will not stand!_" Todoroki thought, glaring first at his hand, then at Midoriya, then finally at the stands, where an imposing man covered in fire glared right back at him. He then turned to the massive sheet of ice covering much of the ring and started thawing out the teams trapped in it.

As the students left the building for food while the entire arena was reformatted again for the final round, Uraraka looked around. "Hey, where's Midoriya?" she asked.

"I dunno; why are you asking?" Monoma responded, grinning and causing Uraraka to start blushing.

In a side entryway, Shoto Todoroki glared at one Izuku Midoriya. "Wh-Why did you bring me here?" the greenette asked.

"Izuku Midoriya…we need to talk."

* * *

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**The final round of the Sports Festival begins! Who will start the festivities off? What does Todoroki want to talk about? Stay tuned for more!**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**Now the Cavalry Battle's over and it's time for the tournament! If you were wondering about the alien forest Awase spent three months surviving in, it was the Helheim Forest from tokusatsu show Kamen Rider Gaim, which is full of mutated monsters and mutagenic fruit.**

**This chapter's title comes from the song "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" by The Offspring.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. 11: Gotta Keep Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

**CHAPTER 11: GOTTA KEEP ROLLIN', ROLLIN', ROLLIN'**

* * *

"Izuku Midoriya…we need to talk."

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

Todoroki continued to stare wordlessly at the hapless figure of Izuku Midoriya, who was getting hungrier and far more uncomfortable by the second. "W-We should probably eat soon. The cafeteria's going to be mighty busy…."

The cold boy finally opened his mouth. "You…overwhelmed me, and I broke my vow" he started. "None of the others noticed me using my fire…not Bakugo, Iida, Monoma, Yaoyorozu, Hatsume, Uraraka or Honenuki…but you did; you forced me to break that vow."

At this, Midoriya's eyes widened. "_What kind of drugs is this dude on?!_"

"Midoriya, tell me the truth…" the bichromatic boy said, clenching his fist. Far away, one of Shoji's ears picked up their voices and started to relay the information to Uraraka, Monoma and Yaoyorozu, now curious themselves. "Did you make some kind of deal with the devil for your powers?"

"Huh?" Midoriya asked.

"_What_" all four of the distant eavesdroppers said in unison.

"Uhhhhhh…what? No! Not at all! Next thing you're going to say is that I'm All Might's secret love child or something" the greenette all but laughed.

"Based on that reaction, there's definitely some kind of secret involving your Quirk, but I won't pry. My father is the Number Two 'hero', Endeavor…which means that, given your seeming connection to the Number One, I have even more of a reason to beat you" Todoroki said, as Midoriya's horror and awkwardness increased.

Back in the cafeteria, Shoji duplicated another mouth on one of his limbs and commented on the whole thing. "What the heck is with Todoroki?"

"My father has always been stuck at Number Two; he's never been able to surpass All Might at any point…which is how I came into being" the bichromatic teen said.

"I don't get it…what are you trying to say to me?" Midoriya asked.

Todoroki sighed, then continued. "Tell me…have you ever heard of Quirk Marriages?"

Back in the cafeteria, the eavesdropper group's eyes widened. "No" Uraraka whispered.

"He wouldn't…" Shoji said.

"What the actual fuck, Endeavor?" Monoma growled.

Yaoyorozu was almost steaming in fury, some long-buried anger re-igniting within her. "That _bastard_" she hissed.

"They became an issue in the first few generations after Quirks first became commonplace, but in some places they still happen despite having been outlawed decades ago" Todoroki said, his eyes narrowing. "My father has a long list of accomplishments, good and bad, and a lot of money with those. He bought my mother's entire family off in order to have her and her powerful ice Quirk." Seeing the look of abject horror on Midoriya's face, he continued.

"I hate the fact that I'm even related to that bastard, much less that he views me as his ultimate creation. In all my memories of my mother, she was crying…and she called my left side unbearable before pouring boiling water on my face." Midoriya stared in shock, while in the cafeteria, Uraraka tried not to cry. "His pride drove him to become this barbaric monster. It's why I refuse to use his damned fire Quirk…and why I will come in first without using it."

Around a corner, listening to the conversation, Katsuki Bakugo's fists tightened in rage. "_What the fuck?! God, I never liked Endeavor, but now I know for sure he's a legitimate piece of flaming shit!_" he steamed in fury, using every ounce of his willpower to avoid trying to go explode the Number Two here right then and there. "_That's fucking villainous._"

"I don't care what your goals, ambitions or connection to All Might are" the bichromatic boy said, turning to walk away. "Just know this: I WILL beat you and Bakugo both with only my right side…I promise you that."

Midoriya thought hard about what Todoroki had said, before making his move…and grabbing the slightly taller bichromatic boy in a tight hug. "…What are you doing?" Todoroki asked.

"Listen, Todoroki…you've had an utterly craptastic life, and I want to invite you over to my house to light what little Endeavor merch I have on fire after today is over…but it's really not healthy at all to do this to yourself" Midoriya said.

"What do you mean? I just explained that I have to! It's the only way that I'll show that bastard that he can't control me-!" Todoroki began, before Midoriya cut him off.

"No! NONE! OF! THAT! You're playing into his hands right there by limiting yourself that way! You're allowing him to use your anger to control you!" the greenette shouted, now utterly incensed. "You really think Quirks work like that? That you can become a hero limiting yourself to half your power? Don't you get that it's your power, not his?!" Midoriya demanded, and something inside Todoroki rang like a bell.

The bichromatic boy looked at his right hand…then his left. "Maybe you're right. It…is my power after all" Todoroki murmured, before turning to the greenette. "Thank you…Midoriya" he said, running off with a small smile gracing his face.

"Face it Deku…you've got a real unique effect on people" Bakugo stepped out from around a corner, grinning like mad.

"Kacchan? How long have you been there?" Midoriya asked.

"Since the start…and let me tell you, I think the Magnificent Seven need to have a get-together and set all of our Endeavor merchandise on fire" the explosive blonde snorted. "Now, let's get some food before the cafeteria is all out."

"Well, that was…uhhhh" Shoji's mouth started.

"Heartbreaking?" Uraraka asked.

"Infuriating?" Yaoyorozu steamed.

"Maybe a bit of both" Monoma said.

"Oh yeah, Yaomomo…why are you so angry?" Uraraka asked the furious girl.

"WHY AM I – oh, sorry."

The quartet sat down at an empty table in one corner. "My mother was the result of a Quirk Marriage…my grandmother married my grandfather solely for his strong Quirk. Like Endeavor, she had plenty of money to back her up, and has always been horrible, especially to my mother and grandfather" Yaoyorozu explained, angrily cutting a piece of meat. "Anytime they come to visit, my mother starts to have a panic attack…and whenever I see my poor grandfather, who has had to put up with over four decades of abuse from that woman…I can't help but shake in fury."

Uraraka suddenly hugged the taller girl. "I'm so sorry you've had to deal with a terrible relative like that" the brunette said, trying to hold back her tears.

"You really are strong" Shoji said, bowing his head and closing his eyes. Monoma looked pissed…again. The raven-haired girl started to tear up herself…and then two figures walked up to their table.

* * *

"**_AAAND WE'RE BACK, LADIES AND GENTS! IT'S ALMOST TIME TO GET STARTED ON THE FINAL ROUND, BUT WE'VE STILL GOT SOME FUN AND GAMES FOR YOU AND THE STUDENTS WHO DIDN'T QUITE MAKE IT BEFORE WE START!_**" Present Mic shouted. "**_WE EVEN BROUGHT IN CHEERLEADERS!_**" Several girls in cheer costumes were doing a dance routine in one part of the stadium.

"**_Wait…what the actual heck are they doing?_**" Aizawa asked, his eyes narrowing on one part of the field.

"**_Good save, Aizawa_**" Ingenium snarked.

The girls of 1-A were all dressed in UA Cheer costumes. "**_IT LOOKS LIKE 1-A'S GONE FULL FANSERVICE!_**" Mic shouted.

"Those bastards…they tricked us!" Yaoyorozu steamed in fury (again), while Sero and Kaminari looked like they were having the single best day of their lives.

"I don't want to do this anymore" Jiro said, frowning.

"Well I do!" Ashido said, jumping happily. "Anyone else with me?"

"I am!" chirped an unfamiliar voice.

"Tokage from 1-B?" Yaoyorozu asked, as the sharp-toothed greenette walked up.

"That's my name; don't wear it out!" the girl said, before flashing a sharp-toothed smile. "Anyway, if any of you want out, I'm in!"

Jiro, Kodai and Yaoyorozu immediately raised their hands.

"I'd like to wear real clothes, if that's possible, _kero_" Asui added.

"Well then, it's settled! Kinoko, Tooru, Pony, wanna join in?" the greenette asked of three of her friends, a tiny brunette with long hair and a tall blonde with horns on her head.

"Totally, friendy!" the blonde said, before realizing that came out wrong. "S-Sorry. My Japanese still isn't very good" she chuckled.

"Absolutely!" the short one said, blushing a little under her long hair.

"You bet I do!" the floating tracksuit chirped.

"Awesome! Anyone else want in? Reiko?" the greenette said, looking towards the grey-haired girl, who shook her head.

"Itsuka?" The orange-haired class president declined, but not before weighing her options for a moment and eyeing a grey-eyed blonde on another part of the field.

"…Ibara?" she asked of a vine-haired girl, whose face immediately contorted into a visage of horror, flushed red with embarrassment.

"Oh Lord, absolutely not! Such debauchery in the eyes of God…" the religious girl clasped her hands in prayer. "May the Lord absolve you of your sins. Amen" she said, before walking away, still blushing.

"…Is she going to be okay?" Asui asked.

"Don't mind Swamp Thing's Religious Daughter" Tokage said, giggling. "Ibara's a nice girl…but she's kind of a prude."

* * *

As the finalists gathered in front of the stage, Midnight took her position. "All the finalists will now draw lots to determine their opponents. There will be a half-hour reprieve before the first match starts, so the finalists can either conserve their energy and prepare for battle, or participate in the games…" the risqué pro said, before a glint of mischievousness shone in her eye.

Just then, two students from the second-place team raised their hands. "Look, we're incredibly happy that we've made it this far, but neither Yanagi's Quirk or my own is particularly useful in this setting" Kuroiro said, shaking his head.

"Agreed. Not a lot of small objects for me to levitate here, honestly" Yanagi added; her classmates doing a double take at her speaking that much.

"**_Well…that's a first for me_**" Ingenium commented from the announcer's box.

"**_We'll have to wait and see what Midnight has to say though_**" Aizawa added.

The Rated-R Hero stood in stunned silence for a moment, before cracking her whip. "So be it! Naïve of you, but at the same time very sporting! It turns me on~" The entire crowd of students blinked in confusion, some facepalming (in Shoji's case, with three hands at once) and others blushing (even the ever-quiet Kodai had a red tint to her cheeks).

"_Did she really say that out loud?_" they all wondered.

"Well then, it looks like two members of Team Kendo will move on! Congratulations, kids, it's your lucky day!" the pro announced.

Tokage immediately declined and Tetsutetsu decided that, given Kirishima's qualification he wouldn't stand out much, he would also decline, so Kendo and Kaibara were chose to move on. The sixteen finalists drew lots, and a few moments later, the results were displayed on a holographic screen.

"Pay close attention! These will be your Round 1 opponents!" The matches were announced as follows:

Izuku Midoriya (1-A) vs Hitoshi Shinsou (1-A)

Yui Kodai (1-A) vs Momo Yaoyorozu (1-A)

Shoto Todoroki (1-A) vs Sen Kaibara (1-B)

Ibara Shiozaki (1-B) vs Juzo Honenuki (1-B)

Ochako Uraraka (1-A) vs Itsuka Kendo (1-B)

Mei Hatsume (1-H) vs Tenya Iida (1-A)

Fumikage Tokoyami (1-A) vs Eijiro Kirishima (1-A)

Katsuki Bakugo (1-A) vs Neito Monoma (1-A)

Each competitor stared at their first opponent. "May the best woman win, Kendo!" Uraraka said.

"Agreed, Uraraka" her orange-haired opponent responded, respect on her face.

"Do your best, Kodai" Yaoyorozu said to her quiet foe.

"You too, Yaoyorozu" the dark-haired girl whispered.

"You'd better keep up, Neito…" Bakugo warned.

The grey-eyed blonde clenched his fist. "You bet I will…Katsuki."

"Hatsume?" Iida asked, before a shiver went up his spine at the sight of the pinkette inventor's crazy grin.

"Tokoyami? Oh, you're super-strong, so this will be really manly!" Kirishima grinned, his bird-headed opponent solemnly nodding.

"May the best of us win, Shiozaki" Honenuki said.

"I agree, Honenuki" the vine-haired girl nodded.

"Ah crap, I'm gonna die here" Kaibara remarked, completely ignoring Todoroki's icy glare.

"Hitoshi? It's too soon…we shouldn't have met until the semifinals, but it looks like this is fate" Midoriya said, before turning to his purple-haired friend. "Good luck, Toshi" he said.

"Good luck to you too, Izu" Shinsou responded.

"Oh no, Uncle Toshi is fighting Papa" Eri muttered, gripping her All Might plushie.

"**_THE THIRTY-MINUTE INTERMISSION STARTS NOW! BETTER GET YOUR POPCORN, THIS TOURNAMENT WILL BE A DOOZY!_**" Present Mic stated. "**_BUT FIRST, SOME WORDS FROM THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL'S OFFICIAL SPONSORS: THE DETNERAT GROUP, SHUEISHA AND SMART BRAIN, INC!_**"

* * *

In no time, the thirty minutes had flown by, and the ring was in place for the final round of the tournament. "**_HEY SPORTS FANS, ARE YOU READY?_**" Present Mic asked, a huge pop from the crowd greeting him in response.

"**_For this round, please welcome special guest judge, Cementoss!_**" Ingenium announced, as the stony pro climbed to the top of a platform next to the ring.

"I'll step in and stop the match if things get out of hand" he said, before settling comfortably into his chair.

"**_FIRST UP, WE HAVE 1-A'S ODDITY OF ODDITIES; IT'S IZUKU MIDORIYA!_**" Present Mic shouted as the greenette made his way towards the ring, a determined smile covering his face despite Mic's awkward introduction. "**_AND HIS OPPONENT, ALSO FROM 1-A, THE BOY WHO I'M CONVINCED IS AIZAWA'S SECRET LOVE CHILD"_** Mic began.

"**_He's definitely not_**" Aizawa grumbled as Ingenium chuckled.

"**_HITOSHI SHINSOU!_**" The purple-haired boy walked into the ring, staring determinedly at arguably his best friend.

As four massive torches lit up the ring from its' corners, Aizawa explained the rules. "**_Victory is achieved by incapacitation, elimination from the ring, disqualification or surrender. Don't hold anything back unless it poses a threat to someone's life; we have Recovery Girl on standby to treat injuries. May the best man win_**" he yawned.

"I'll stop the match if things get too rough" Cementoss said from his chair.

"Midoriya, are you ready?" Midnight asked, the boy nodding in response.

"Are you ready, Shinsou?"

"I am" the purple-haired teen responded.

"Then…BEGIN!"

"_It's far too soon for this match…we should both have had a chance to shine…_" Midoriya thought, as he and Shinsou kept their eyes locked on each other, not daring to move yet.

After a few moments, Shinsou spoke. "Hey, Izuku…be a dear and just give up for me already, okay?"

Midoriya blinked, before backing up to one of the flaming braziers at the ring's edge and tapping it, activating his Quirk. The fire of the brazier spiraled upwards, then coalesced into a wooden sign. The sign read "Sorry Hitoshi, but I'm not letting you use your Quirk that easily."

Shinsou growled. "Figures; you know about my Quirk and its' weakness. I guess I'll have to go hand to hand then!" With that, the lilac-haired boy charged Midoriya, bringing his right arm back in a fist to perform a picture-perfect Katsuki Bakugo right hook…and when Midoriya stepped aside for that, Shinsou swept his legs out from under him and pinned him down.

With a quick use of his Quirk, the greenette escaped his friend's grasp by creating a layer of vegetable oil on himself and slipping out, jumping back to the signboard and peeling off another wooden sign like one would peel a stamp off of a roll of stamps. This sign read "Good Try, Hitoshi!"

At this point, Shinsou was getting frustrated. "Take me seriously, dammit!" he roared, charging his friend again.

"**_THIS HAS SUDDNELY GOTTEN VERY PERSONAL…I'M FEELING KIND OF UNCOMFORTABLE_**" Present Mic shouted a little more quietly than usual.

Midoriya sidestepped at the last moment and touched the floor of the ring itself, activating his Quirk. The concrete rippled and began to spiral upward into several large waves. The lilac-haired insomniac jumped upwards, briefly touching the spires of the waves before leaping towards one of the braziers, flipping backwards and kicking Midoriya in the stomach and yelling at him.

"IZUKU! YOU AND KATSUKI WERE SOME OF THE FIRST PEOPLE WHO ACCEPTED ME FOR WHO I WAS; NEITO FEELS THE SAME! SO SHOW ME SOME COURTESY AND DON'T HOLD BACK AGAINST ME!"

The greenette's eyes widened and he leapt backwards to the sign again, peeling off a third one. "I understand, Hitoshi. Brace yourself."

Midoriya's hand swept through the air again, and his Quirk activated, creating a shimmering layer covering the entire ring that cracked open, dropping an anvil from the sky that landed a matter of a couple centimeters from the tips of Shinsou's toes. The purple-haired boy leapt backwards, unaware that he'd just stumbled into Midoriya's trap. The banana peel on the arena floor caused Shinsou to stumble backwards towards the edge.

"_Dammit! Not yet!_" he thought regaining his balance and charging forward again, too late to notice Midoriya reaching up one of his sleeves.

The greenette spun around and let his pastry projectile leave his hands. The force behind the vanilla cream pie as it made contact with Shinsou's face was enough to knock the lilac-haired teen well out of bounds.

"I'm sorry, Hitoshi" Midoriya murmured.

Midnight cracked her whip. "Hitoshi Shinsou is out of bounds! Izuku Midoriya wins!" The crowd cheered, even if half of them were utterly confused about the ending.

"**_AND IN AN EMOTIONAL BATTLE, IZUKU MIDORIYA EMERGES THE VICTOR! ANYTHING TO ADD?_**"

Ingenium nodded, before delivering a quick and effective summary of the match. "**_This match may have seemed one-sided, but it was anything but. Clearly these two are in good condition and would have easily gone on much longer if it wasn't for Midoriya deciding to end the match early with…whatever that was_**."

"**_HEY AIZAWA, WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON YOUR SON'S LOSS?_**"

The insomniac pro groaned. "**_He's not my son, Hizashi, how many times do I have to tell you?_**"

Down on the field, Shinsou lay, covered in frothy vanilla goodness. "_I lost. I'm really not good enough, am I?_"

His staring at the sky was interrupted, however, by a green-haired phenom who smiled warmly at him. "You did amazing, Hitoshi. If I didn't know how to avoid your Brainwashing, I'd have been a goner. You will make a truly amazing hero."

The lilac-haired boy smiled back. "Yeah…I will." The loser of the match grabbed the winners hand and got back to his feet, before raising the greenette's hand in a show of sportsmanship; the crowd going crazy at the sight.

As they walked back to the locker room, Midoriya turned his head to look at his friend. "Hitoshi…are you crying?"

The lilac-haired teen glared back. "What? No. I just…have pie filling in my eye" he responded, a single tear of joy streaking down his right cheek.

"**_NOW THAT THAT'S OVER, IT'S TIME FOR THE SECOND MATCH TO START!_**"

* * *

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**Yaoyorozu faces Kodai! Todoroki's power goes on display! Plus Honenuki vs Shiozaki and more! Stay tuned!**

* * *

**FROM THE FILES OF IZUKU MIDORIYA:**

**Quirk: Dupli-Arms**

**User(s): Mezo Shoji; Moku Shoji**

**About: Dupli-Arms is a versatile mutation Quirk that manifests as six webbed tentacles that Shoji typically uses as arms. This Quirk's abilities stem from unusual quantities of stem cells that can be activated at will by the user to duplicate any body part onto the tip of a tentacle, including another tentacle. These tentacles are also very strong; Shoji is physically the single strongest member of our class for this reason. His family is rather well-off thanks to this; his father is a pioneer in using this Quirk for regenerative medicine. Maybe a treatment with the Quirk's cells could help All Might?**

**Special Techniques:**

**Octoblow: Shoji can duplicate multiple arms for a rush of attacks augmented by his incredible natural strength**

**Eye of the World: By meditating and duplicating a large number of tentacles and creating eyes, ears and noses, Shoji's senses are enhanced dramatically. He can see a fly on a wall from three hundred meters away with this technique.**

**Weaknesses: Tentacles are not invulnerable to damage and can still be painful for Shoji if hurt. Potential for sensory overload during Eye of the World technique.**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**And now we're finally getting to the tournament. I meant to have this out a while ago, but writer's block and a bad case of the stomach flu set me back big-time.**

**This chapter's title comes from the song "Rollin'" by Limp Bizkit.**

**Thanks as ever for reading!**


	12. 12: Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

**CHAPTER 12: TELL ME SWEET LITTLE LIES**

* * *

The audience roared as the next two competitors for the Sports Festival's first round were called to the field. The two dark-haired beauties of 1-A stood face-to-face on opposite sides of the ring.

"**_ALRIGHT FOLKS, IT'S TIME FOR US TO BEGIN THE SECOND MATCH OF THE PRELIMINARIES!_**" Present Mic shouted, as the two combatants took the stage.

"**_FIRST, FROM HERO CLASS 1-A, THE COOL, CALM, COLLECTED, YUI KODAI!_**" The _kuudere_ stared with an emotionless gaze at her opponent.

"**_AND HER OPPONENT, ALSO FROM 1-A; THE QUEEN OF CREATION, MOMO YAOYOROZU!_** The ponytailed girl bowed stiffly, clearly uncomfortable about all the eyes on her.

"Good luck, Kodai" Yaoyorozu said, a slight edge of discomfort entering her voice. Her opponent only nodded.

Midnight cracked her whip. "Kodai, are you ready?" The girl nodded.

"Yaoyorozu, are you ready?"

"I am" the ponytailed girl responded.

"THEN BEGIN!"

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia Opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

"You did good, Deku!" Uraraka shouted, as the greenette made his way into the student seating with Shinsou.

"Here, we saved you some seats" Iida said, gesturing to a two empty spots between Uraraka and Monoma.

"That was…weird" Tokage muttered, still a little confused about the chaos her fellow greenette had wrought.

As he passed Bakugo on his way down, the explosive blonde flashed a thumbs-up. "Good job, Deku. Now, GO KICK HER ASS, SEVEN!" he yelled at Kodai.

"**_LOOKS LIKE 1-A'S BAKUGO HAS A FAVORITE IN MIND!_**"

The blonde's face contorted in annoyance. "SHUT UP, MIC!"

"**_What he said_**" Aizawa agreed.

Kodai's face steeled into a look of fierce determination at Bakugo's shout. "_I won't let you down…_"

Reaching into the pouches on her belt, a support item cleared with the Sports Festival Commission a week prior as per the guidelines, the _kuudere_ produced a hex nut and threw it headlong at Yaoyorozu, before activating her Quirk. The nut quickly grew from a centimeter across to the size of one of Kendo's enlarged hands and crashed into the arena floor, pulverizing the concrete where the ponytailed girl had stood moments before into powder.

"**_Now that's a mildly terrifying Quirk. Imagine getting crushed by a coin the size of a grand piano_**" Ingenium remarked.

"_I need a diversion for this idea to work…that's it!_" Yaoyorozu thought, concentrating on creating something from her stomach again.

A trio of grenades popped out of her hands as Kodai's eyes narrowed. The ponytailed girl threw the first one, a bright yellow one, which landed in front of the quiet girl, forcing her to jump backwards as it exploded into heat and light – a flashbang.

Kodai landed in another part of the ring, only to realize that a dark purple one was next to her foot. The grenade hissed, then spat out a cloud of dark purple gas, blinding and choking Kodai – a smoke grenade. As Kodai escaped the gas, disoriented and uncomfortable thanks to the thick smoke, she almost tripped over the last grenade, a light blue one. With a loud "BANG!", the last grenade exploded, creating a thick layer of ice, trapping her – a cryogenic grenade.

"And now, the finish!" the ponytailed girl shouted, throwing the last item she had created. The pair of bolos flew through the air and wrapped around Kodai's torso, magnetically locking into place with a clicking noise.

"Kodai, can you move?" Midnight asked. The _kuudere_ shook her head. The Rated-R Hero cracked her whip; "Yui Kodai is immobilized! Momo Yaoyorozu advances to the quarterfinals!"

"**_AND WITH THAT, HALF THE FIRST QUARTERFINAL HAS BEEN DECIDED: MIDORIYA VS YAOYOROZU!_**" Present Mic shouted, as the crowd roared for Yaoyorozu's victory. The girl in question walked over to her opponent and created a de-icing agent, which quickly thawed the other dark-haired girl out.

"Sorry about that; I might have gone overboard" Yaoyorozu said sheepishly.

"You did what you had to" Kodai responded, voice barely above a whisper as the victor helped her defeated foe to the locker room.

The crowd cheered again at the display of sportsmanship; up in the stands, Bakugo smirked. "Well done, Yui…" he muttered.

* * *

A quick intermission later, and it was time for the next match. "**_THE THIRD MATCH IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! NOW INTRODUCING THE COMBATANTS: FIRST, FROM CLASS 1-A, THE UNBELIEVABLY STRONG SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, SHOTO TODOROKI!_**" The bichromatic boy stared coldly at his nonchalant opponent.

"**_AND HIS OPPONENT: 1-B'S HUMAN WHIRLWIND, SEN KAIBARA!_**" The brown-haired boy looked completely unfazed by the fact that he was competing with possibly the strongest first-year at UA, illuminated by the giant torches on each corner of the ring.

"So, who do you think is going to win?" Uraraka asked.

"Oh, that's easy…Fidget Spinner is no pushover, but IcyHot's on a whole different level" Bakugo snorted, before looking back to the ring.

Kaibara stared at his opponent for a moment or two. "I have little chance of winning; I'll be honest…but I'm really not on board with just giving up either!" he said, cracking his neck and holding his arms in front of him. "GYRATION WAVE, TWENTY PERCENT OUTPUT - WHIRLWIND!" His right arm began to rotate, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed until a strong breeze could be felt even near the top of the stadium.

_Sen Kaibara. His Quirk: Gyrate! He can spin any part of his body like a drill!_

A small ball of wind gathered in the palm of his right hand, and with a quick motion, Kaibara launched it at Todoroki. The wind buffeted the bichromatic teen, forcing him backwards; to counter this, Todoroki created a chair of ice behind him to stop his movement.

"**_AND KAIBARA GOES ON THE OFFENSIVE!_**"

The brown-haired boy smirked. "And while you're dealing with that…FORTY-FIVE PERCENT OUTPUT – TYPHOON!" A massive blast of howling wind blasted from his left hand, cracking the concrete and kicking up a wall of dust.

"I did it…" Kaibara murmured, as the smoke began to clear…only to see Todoroki standing unharmed, a wall of ice backing him up.

"Is that the best you've got?" the bichromatic boy asked coldly.

Kaibara's eyes widened. "_Shit! Gotta raise the power by a lot!_" he thought, holding both arms below him. "FIFTY PERCENT – HURRICANE!" A much stronger wind began to travel through the stadium as the air currents lifted him into the air, his legs also spinning to keep him aloft. Hovering a good thirty meters above the ring, where Todoroki looked up as coldly as ever, the brown-haired boy held both arms out and aimed them at Todoroki.

"Let's crank this up a lot! GYRATION WAVE, EIGHTY-FIVE PRECENT OUTPUT…DIVINE WINDSTORM!" With that, both of Kaibara's arms began to spin at unbelievable speeds. In the stands, the audience began to take cover as hats were ripped from heads and small children threatened to be carried off. A massive tornado shot from between Kaibara's arms, engulfing the entire arena floor. Midnight barely clung to her stage, and Cementoss closed his eyes.

"This is crazy!" Kaminari shouted over the howling wind.

Then, the temperature dropped dramatically, and small crystals of ice began to form in the air, quickly filling Kaibara's windstorm with hail. The audience ducked and covered even harder than before, as Kaibara's eyes widened. The entire arena shook. In the commentary booth, Present Mic's glasses almost slid off his face, and Aizawa stared wide-eyed. Up at the faculty box, Inko passed out again from shock, and All Might was utterly stunned. The hero students gawked at the massive glacier that had formed feet from their faces, instantly dispelling the whirlwind, and outside, the pros guarding the stadium stared at the top of the ice formation jutting out over the edge of the top.

Finally, Ingenium broke the silence. "**_Holy shit._**"

Midnight stood half frozen on the stage nearby. "Kaibara, can you move?"

The boy in question, now frozen thirty meters in the air inside a glacier, shook his head. "Are you crazy? There's no way I can get out of here!" he chattered.

Midnight raised her hand since she couldn't crack her whip. "Sen Kaibara has surrendered! Shoto Todoroki advances to the second round!"

The crowd murmured in awe at the level of power displayed by both competitors as Todoroki melted the glacier. "I'm sorry…I was angry" the bichromatic boy said, before walking back to the locker room, staring coldly at the flaming man near the top of the stands.

"I pity whoever has to go up against _that_" Jiro muttered.

"No kidding!" Sero agreed.

"Jesus fucking Christ, IcyHot! Could you have gone any more overboard?" Bakugo growled.

The 1-B students sitting on the left-hand side of the heroics division looked on. "Christ, they took out Kaibara…he's easily among our class's strongest…" murmured Ojiro.

* * *

"**_UP NEXT IS A CLASH OF CLASS 1-B! FIRST, THE LIPLESS WONDER, JUZO HONENUKI!_**" The ash-haired boy facepalmed at this description.

"Seriously, Mic-sensei?" he groaned.

"**_AND HIS OPPONENT, THE ARBOREAL ASSASSIN OF 1-B, IBARA SHIOZAKI!_**"

The vine-haired girl's eyes snapped open and she raised her hand. "Excuse me!" she shouted.

"**_UMMMM…YES?_**"

"I have not come to bring harm or the end of a life to my opponents today. I have only come to show my peace in tranquility!" Shiozaki said, as Honenuki barely kept a straight face.

"**_RIGHT…OKAY, I'M…SORRY?_**" Mic said.

Ingenium snickered, before Aizawa added his two cents. "**_Congratulations Mic, you just got schooled hard._**"

Midnight cracked her whip. "Okay, so with that…interesting exchange out of the way, Honenuki, are you ready?" she asked, stifling a giggle.

"I am" the ash-haired boy responded, cracking his knuckles.

"Shiozaki, are you ready?" The vine-haired girl silently nodded.

"Then BEGIN!"

"So, Deku, who do you think will win this?" Uraraka asked.

Bakugo chuckled. "From what I've seen based on how you guys did in the cavalry battle, Eren Yeager there is pretty strong…but Shiozaki is taking this easy" the ash blonde said.

"Eh? You're so sure?" Ashido asked.

"Yeah, she's on a whole other level…she might actually give IcyHot a run for his money in the next round."

Sure enough, a loud crash echoed through the ring, and when the dust cleared Honenuki was hanging by his legs well out of bounds, his body wrapped in vines. Shiozaki, meanwhile, stood in silent prayer atop a mountain of plant matter, several exceptionally large ones coming from the concrete that Honenuki had softened in a futile effort to avoid Shiozaki's attacks.

Midnight stared up at the lipless boy. "Honenuki, can you move?" The ash-haired boy solemnly shook his head. "Juzo Honenuki has been immobilized! Ibara Shiozaki moves to the quarterfinals!"

As a graphic of Todoroki and Shiozaki was displayed next to the one for Midoriya vs Yaoyorozu, several 1-B members gawked at what they'd just witnessed. "I knew Ibara was powerful…but holy crap, she beat one of our two recommendation students in a flash!" Hagakure said.

"Agreed. Shiozaki is an unparalleled competitor in our class" Shishida murmured.

Midoriya, meanwhile, simply stared. "_If I beat Momo, I'll have to deal with either her or Todoroki…and neither one sounds very fun…_"

* * *

One ten-minute break later, and it was time for the next match to start. "**_LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S TIME FOR THE FIFTH MATCH OF ROUND ONE!_**" Present Mic shouted, as the crowd cheered.

Uraraka stood on one side of the ring facing her orange-haired adversary. "**_INTRODUCING FIRST: FROM HERO COURSE 1-A, THE ADORABLE MISTRESS OF GRAVITY, OCHAKO URARAKA!_**"

On the opposite side of the ring, Kendo stood serenely as she stared at her opponent this round. "**_HER OPPONENT: THE DE FACTO LEADER OF CLASS 1-B, ITSUKA KENDO!_**".

"May the best woman win" the duo said in unison, eyes narrowing at each other.

"Uraraka, are you ready?" Midnight asked.

"Yep!"

"Kendo, are you ready?"

"Yes, I am."

The hero cracked her whip. "BEGIN!"

Uraraka immediately charged forward, expecting Kendo to make her hands bigger to attack with…only for the orangette to duck under her lunge and strike her in the gut with a knee strike. As the brunette stumbled back from the blow, her opponent shook her head.

"Uraraka, that was naïve of you" Kendo said, shaking her head in disappointment, before continuing. "I know how your Quirk works, and that this is a bad matchup for me. My hands would be bigger, easier targets for you if I used my Quirk…which is why I'll beat you without using my powers!"

Back in the stands, Midoriya watched in horror. "Oh no…Ochako's Quirk would normally put her at a significant advantage, but if Kendo is fighting her Quirkless in hand to hand, she's at a massive disadvantage…"

Monoma grimaced. "This isn't looking good for Ochako. She's tough, but she relies too heavily on her Quirk…"

In the ring, Kendo was handily keeping the upper hand against Uraraka, despite the gravity girl's best efforts. Her strikes were too quick and efficient for Uraraka to even hope to get a good hold on Kendo.

"**_THIS LOOKED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BE A FAIR FIGHT, BUT IT'S TURNING OUT TO BE A PRETTY ONE-SIDED BEATDOWN!_**" Mic shouted.

"**_That's not it at all. Uraraka is at a natural disadvantage here due to her lack of physical training in favor of Quirk training…something that many students and pros alike could improve on_**" Aizawa responded, his words giving Midoriya callbacks to how easily he thrashed the villains at the USJ in hand to hand after disabling their Quirks.

And then, just when it looked like Uraraka's fate was sealed, Kendo slipped up.

As the orange-haired girl came in for a hard elbow strike, hoping to end the battle, Uraraka ducked under her swing and clasped one hand on her wrist. Kendo found herself suddenly weightless, with the momentum of her last attack carrying her forward towards the edge of the ring.

"Oh no you don't!" she yelled, expanding her hands until they were larger than her own body, before bringing them together in a massive clap.

The blast of wind released by her weightless thunderclap buffeted the crowd and bowled Uraraka over like she was the weightless one, but the tactic backfired spectacularly of 1-B's big sister. The propulsion generated flung her all the way across the ring in reverse, over the white line and out over the green.

Before she could correct her course and get back to the ring, Uraraka seized the chance and touched her fingers together. "Release!" Kendo fell to the ground, landing on her feet but out of bounds.

Midnight cracked her whip. "Itsuka Kendo is out of bounds! Ochako Uraraka advances to the quarterfinals!"

As the crowd cheered for Uraraka's victory, many pros also commented on Kendo's strength and skill in combat. One masked, muscular pro with mint-green hair immediately decided to make offers to both of them after that performance.

"**_AND LIKE THAT, URARAKA PULLS OFF A SURPRISE WIN! WHAT AN EXCITING TURN OF EVENTS, FOLKS!_**"

Aizawa nodded in approval. "**_They both did very well. Kendo held the upper hand through much of the battle with her strength and experience, but Uraraka's natural instincts allowed her to take advantage of an opening and turn the tables._**"

"**_I'd say they're both very promising talents_**" Ingenium noted, the round-faced girl starting to cry tears of joy at the Turbo Hero's words.

Uraraka was mobbed as she returned to the stands, people in both heroics classes congratulating her on her victory over as skilled a combatant as Kendo. Speaking of, the orange-haired girl had congratulated Uraraka for her victory, sheepishly admitting that she started getting too into the battle and got sloppy. The round-faced brunette took her seat next to Midoriya, eagerly waiting to see who her opponent would be in the next round.

* * *

"**_IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER PULSE-POUNDING BATTLE, FOLKS!_**" the Voice Hero shouted. "**_FIRST, FROM SUPPORT CLASS 1-H, IT'S THE ECCENTRIC MEI HATSUME!_**"

The pinkette smirked as Iida walked out to face her, wearing multiple interesting gadgets. Midnight coughed, before pointing at Iida. "You there! You did not file the paperwork for a support item! What are you doing?"

The tall boy bowed. "I'm terribly sorry, Miss Midnight, but Hatsume asked me beforehand if I could wear some of her inventions as well during our match. I want to honor her wishes!" he said.

"**_Well, this is interesting_**" Ingenium said.

"**_What it is…is a waste of time_**" Aizawa groaned.

"**_WELL? IS IT GOING TO BE ALLOWED?_**" Mic shouted.

Midnight grinned in a strange sort of ecstasy. "Such sportsmanship! It turns me on! I'll allow it!"

The entire arena sweatdropped. "_Did she really just say that it turns her on?_"

"Iida, are you ready?"

The bluenette boy adjusted his glasses. "I am."

"Hatsume, are you ready?"

"Yep!"

The risqué pro cracked her whip. "Then, let this match begin!"

One fifteen-minute long glorified commercial break later, Hatsume stepped out of bounds, leaving Iida the winner, much to the audience's confusion.

"What the hell was that?!" Bakugo roared in disbelief.

Shinsou facepalmed. "Good grief, Tenya…"

In the announcer's box, the elder Iida son was laughing his ass off. "**_Tenya, you got utterly played!_**" he giggled, as Aizawa rolled his eyes.

"**_SO…I GUESS WE SHOULD GET ON TO THE NEXT MATCH THEN?_**" Mic said as a graphic for Uraraka vs Iida was displayed on a screen next to the other two semifinal matches.

* * *

A few winks of an eye later, and it was time for the second to last match of the first round. "**_AND WE'RE BACK, FOLKS! TIME FOR A BATTLE THAT SHOULD HOPEFULLY BE A BIT MORE EXCITING THAN THE LAST ONE!_**"

The crowd cheered as the two combatants stared each other down. "**_FIRST UP, FROM 1-A, THE DARK WIZARD HIMSELF, FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI!_**" The bird-headed teen's arms were crossed as he stood confidently.

"**_AND HIS OPPONENT, THE ROCK-HARD BRAWLER OF 1-A, EIJIRO KIRISHIMA!_**" The spiky redhead cracked his knuckles.

"This is going to be pretty manly…" he trailed off.

"Any idea who will win?" someone from 1-B asked.

"This one could go either way. Tokoyami has better ranged abilities, but Kirishima is unrivaled in close combat. It all depends on if Dark Shadow is strong enough in daylight to overpower Kirishima's Hardening, or if Kirishima can outlast Dark Shadow and reach Tokoyami…" Midoriya murmured.

***Cue My Hero Academia OST: Iron Battle** *****

Kirishima decided his best option would be to start off swinging; letting off a loud war cry as he charged Tokoyami. "It's over, Tokoyami!" Kirishima roared, as a strike from Dark Shadow bounced harmlessly off of his Hardened body.

The spiky redhead seemed intent on beating Tokoyami as quickly as he could. "I'll take you down now, so that I can face Baku-bro or Bro-noma in the next round!" Bringing his right arm back, Kirishima increased its' hardness to the max and swung with all his strength. "RED BREAKER!"

A blast of wind shot through the stadium with a loud crack, the noise rattling the bones of the audience members. The ring's floor cracked and crumbled from the indirect force of the blow, and a massive cloud of dust enveloped the arena floor.

"**_WHAT'S GOING ON? I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!_**" Mic announced, as the dust began to clear.

Shinsou smirked lightly. "I think Kirishima is about to lose."

The dust cleared to reveal that Kirishima's outstretched fist had made contact with a shadowy barrier wrapped tightly around Tokoyami, drawing its' strength from the darkness of his unbuttoned P.E shirt.

"He's using it again…" Iida said.

"Using what again?" Uraraka asked, an intrigued expression on her face.

"Back at the USJ, he used this move to enhance his fighting abilities; I suspect he traumatized at least half the criminals who attacked us. It won't be as strong given that it's a sunny day instead of a gloomy artificial rainstorm…but I think Kirishima has just lost…"

"BLACK ANKH!" Tokoyami shouted as the darkness wrapped around him more and more, until it had formed a suit of dark armor with two bright yellow eyes shining just above Tokoyami's own.

Kirishima grinned. "Now that's manly! Bring it on, Tokoyami!" Putting his arms up in a guard, the spiky redhead prepared to bear the brunt of the next attack.

Meanwhile, Tokoyami raised his left arm, coated in darkness, and as the stadium's occupants looked on in amazement, the arm seemed to grow until it was dramatically larger than Tokoyami's own body. "GLOOM FIST!"

The giant arm swung and made contact with Kirishima's Hardened defense, and a massive plume of dust shot up well above the top of the stadium, while the impact reverberated all the way to the arena's foundations with the force of a magnitude 6 earthquake.

"**_What an impressive display of power…_**" Ingenium murmured. As the dust cleared, it revealed that Tokoyami was standing in the ring, while Kirishima had been launched out of the ring and embedded in the very wall of the arena by the impact.

Midnight cracked her whip. "Eijiro Kirishima is out of bounds! Fumikage Tokoyami advances to the quarterfinals!"

The spiky redhead grinned as he began to slip into unconsciousness. "So…manly…"

"Next is…" Midoriya began, before seeing the next match, his eyes widening.

In the faculty box, Eri gripped her All Might plushie. "Uncle Katsuki is fighting Uncle Neito…" she murmured in worry. On the field, the two blondes stood facing each other on opposite sides of the ring.

"**_LET'S GET THE LAST MATCH OF THE PRELIMINARIES UNDERWAY!_**"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF LUCK OF THE DRAW…**

**Bakugo vs Monoma! Which blonde will emerge triumphant? What is Neito's motivation? Stay tuned for more!**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**Man, this one took a while to write. The next chapter should be one of my best to date, so stay tuned, and as ever, thanks for reading!**

**This chapter's title comes from the song "Little Lies" by my all-time favorite band, Fleetwood Mac.**


	13. Intermission: Shiggy's Speech

_A few minutes before the USJ Incident, beneath a dingy bar in [REDACTED]..._

A large crowd of the worst Japanese society had to offer milled in and out of the shadows. These were truly scum, the common clay smeared upon the underbelly of the civilized world. Among them were arsonists, rapists, murderers, jaywalkers and candy thieves - truly the worst of the worst.

All of them stopped abruptly at the sound of a single man scratching his neck, bits of dry skin flaking off as he ascended to a small podium with a single cheap, low-quality cordless microphone mounted on it. On the far end of the room, standing next to a huge, shadowy figure, there was a much smaller but equally shadowy figure whose glowing yellow eyes were flitting around the room, making sure none of the villains could break into his prized liquor store.

The man with light-blue hair and multiple severed hands gripping his body coughed lightly into the microphone, then began his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he began, as the other villains snapped to attention. "You are about to embark on a great crusade...to stamp out runaway decency and aspirations of heroism in the hearts of the next generation of wannabe heroes!"

Pausing to glance around the room, he grinned behind the severed hand on his face. "Now, you will only be risking your lives...whilst I will only be risking the death of the Symbol of Peace...and an almost certain Japan Academy Film Prize nomination for Outstanding Acting Performance in a Leading Role. Now...raise your right hands for the pledge."

Almost every one of the minor criminals in the room raised their left hands, leading to a disappointed growl from the blue-haired figure. "I said right, dammit!" The villains put their left hands down and raised their right hands.

"Very good. Now, repeat after me: 'I'" the leader began.

"I" the crowd responded in unison.

"'Your name here'" the leader continued.

"YOUR NAME HERE" the villains responded, causing the leader to briefly remove the hand from his face long enough to facepalm with his own hand and murmur the inaudible word "Schmucks", before resuming his speech.

"'Do pledge allegiance'" he resumed.

"DO PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE" the crowd responded.

"'To Tomura Shigaraki'"

"TO TENKO SHIGARAKI"

The villain leader growled. "It's TOMURA!"

"IT'S TOMURA!" the crowd responded, much to his chagrin.

"'And to the evil and villainous League'" Shigaraki resumed.

"AND TO THE EVIL AND VILLAINOUS LEAGUE!" the villains replied.

"'For which he stands!'" the ashy bluenette finished.

"FOR WHICH HE STANDS!" the crowd responded affirmatively.

Shigaraki grinned behind the hand on his face, before finishing his speech as a purple wall of Kurogiri's mist formed in front of the wall directly to his right. "Now go do that voodoo that you do SO WELL!" he shouted, the crowd of villains cheering racuously at his statement.

In the background, next to Kurogiri's main body, the massive shape began to move, revealing itself to be the Nomu. A few of the villains whispered nervously to each other about it. "_All Might doesn't stand a chance - here comes Mongo!_" was the general consensus between them. Shigaraki was the first to step through the curtain, followed by the remainder of his followers, all hoping to have a crack at the next generation of heroes.

* * *

**NOTES:**

**Welcome back, everyone! It's been the better part of a year since my last update, and what a doozy of a year it's been! I dunno about you guys, but I'm getting a little tired of living through a major historical event.**

**Anyway, with that said, I'm anticipating resuming this story in the immediate future. The chapters will be shorter - when I was writing my on-hiatus Naruto fanfic, I found that shorter chapters don't make me lose focus or get frustrated as quickly, so I'm likely to keep cranking them out for longer.**

**This little omake to tide you all over is inspired by Hedley Lamarr's speech in ****_Blazing Saddles_****...a movie that you REALLY couldn't get away with making today. I hope you all enjoyed this little bit before the Sports Festival resumes.**

**Peace,**

**\- DVD181**


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